


To Teach a Trickster

by WindChimeGhost



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Crack Fic, Disciplinary Spanking, Fluff, Gen, Hospital, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Injections, Loki Feels, Loki Needs a Hug, Loki gets a shot, Loki's bad day, Loki's bad week, Loki's poor bottom, Loki-centric, Mortal Loki, Motherly Jane Foster, Non-Consensual Spanking, Non-Sexual Spanking, Non-sexual, Non-sexual cuddling, Over the Knee, Parental Spanking, Sick Loki, Spanking, Thumb-sucking, What-If, big baby Loki, loki needs cuddles, sick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2015-08-20
Packaged: 2018-04-14 11:16:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 57,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4562541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WindChimeGhost/pseuds/WindChimeGhost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A ‘What if?’ story.</p><p>After the destruction of New York, Odin punishes Loki by stripping him of his power and banishing him to Midgard just as he did to Thor. Feeling pity for his brother, Thor leaves Loki in the care of Jane Foster before returning to Asgard. Now mortal, Loki must deal with the frustrations and miseries of every day earth life while under the watchful eyes of Jane and Darcy. However, even as a mortal, Loki cannot help being Loki.</p><p>Contains parental discipline/corporal punishment/spanking. Don’t like, Don’t read.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Banishment to Midgard

**Author's Note:**

> ~ Critique not desired ~  
>    
>  **WARNING: This fanfic may not be for everyone. It includes spanking scenes, injections/hospital/doctor content, and brief talk of past abuse/torture. If any of this disturbs you, makes you feel uncomfortable, or offends you in any way, then please do not read or leave comments/reviews. Just hit your back button. You have been properly warned, so any bashing or flame comments that are still posted anyway will be ignored and deleted. This fanfic is fictitious and was written purely for the fun of it.**
> 
>    
> ~ ALSO: This story is a ‘what if?’ story that is slightly crackfic that takes place right after the first Avengers movie. Some parts may not go entirely by canon, and some of the characters might act slightly OOC on purpose. If this isn’t your cup of tea either, then don’t read or comment. This is a fanfic that I wrote purely for fun and fangirly pleasure because I wanted to read it. So I loosened up a little and let myself go. So it’s not to be taken seriously, unless you just want to. Mostly just read and enjoy. Loki probably acts more childish in this story than he should. Yes, it was intentional. Just enjoy the fluff and Loki feels and give him lots of cuddles. With that being said, I DID keep things as close to canon as possible and lined it up to the canon storyline as much as possible.
> 
> I want to make clear that I DO NOT support or condone the Loki/Jane or Loki/Darcy pairings/ships. I am NOT into shipping or pairings so this fanfic has nothing to do with pairings/ships, or romance for that matter. If you see it as being such, then you’re seeing something that isn’t there. I felt like I needed to make this clear beforehand, just because some people misunderstand sometimes. I just want to stress the fact that Jane Foster is a motherly figure in this story, and a friend. Nothing more. Some scenes were added for the purpose of giving comfort and fluff to help balance out the angsty parts. And, I’ll admit, that some parts are my fangirly-ness seeping out into my writing. I think fellow Loki fangirls will appreciate it.
> 
> Anyway… I’ve had this plot bunny in my head for probably almost a year. When I first got the idea for it, I sort of hesitated and pushed it aside while I worked on other things. But the idea just would not leave me alone and demanded to be written out. So I pitched my ideas to a friend and asked if she could give me some more ideas and inspiration for it, so she did. And it helped kick this thing into high gear. I think I ended up writing about 7 to 9 chapters of it in a matter of 5 days the first week. I have never been that rabid in writing a fanfic before. *phew!* I originally planned on it just being a little short thing with maybe 10 chapters at the most, but it soon developed into something much bigger and longer. Oh my goodness. x_X
> 
> So a big thanks goes out to my friend Jenna for some of the ideas and inspiration and also for giving my original plot more substance. Loki, however, does not thank her for suggesting that he get the measles and four series of shots in his bottom. He’s coming after you, Jenna.
> 
> If I was Jane’s neighbor, I’d move out of this apartment building. Or at least move to another floor.
> 
> This is also my very first time writing Jane and Darcy into a fic, so please ignore any inaccuracies. First-time characters are usually rough around the edges until I get used to writing them.
> 
>  
> 
> The Avengers / Thor and all related characters © Marvel
> 
> Fanfic and plot ©2015 by me (please do not take, use, or edit without my permission)

Thor walked up to the throne, dragging Loki along beside him like a dead weight. The trickster struggled with the handcuffs on his hands as well as against Thor’s grip on his arm. Once, his legs buckled under him like a child refusing to do what it’s told, causing Thor to have to pull him up roughly and use both hands to push him forward. Loki twisted his hands around and tried not to wince as the metal cuffs pinched at his skin. He was fairly certain they would wear bloody grooves in his wrists by the time all of this was over. And that was only part of it. The muzzle on his mouth was also starting to become most uncomfortable, digging itself into his cheeks. On top of it all were the bruises and cuts he had received after the Hulk used him for a ragdoll. Every push, jab, and pull from Thor brought the pain of these wounds to his attention quite thoroughly.

When they finally stopped, Loki shot a glare at Odin, the two momentarily locking eyes with each other in silent revulsion—one being a disgusted father, the other being a defiant son.

“Behave yourself, brother,” Thor warned, letting go of Loki’s arm. Loki pulled away like a stubborn child, his stare venomous as he watched what would happen next. Shaking his head in exasperation, Thor turned to face Odin, offering the Tesseract to the All-Father. Loki continued to scowl at the two men.

“I’m assuming that all is now well on Midgard?” Odin turned his eye to his eldest son, reaching out to take the Tesseract.

Thor nodded. “Yes, Father.” He could tell Odin wanted to say more but was holding it back. “The wormhole the Chitauri were using has been closed, thanks to Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff, and Erik Selvig. Everything is well again, considering. Though, I regret to say that much damage has been done to that particular area of the realm. And there have been many casualties. There were a lot of unnecessary deaths among the people there, including some dear friends.”

Odin nodded grimly. “I’m sorry to hear about the losses, but I’m glad to hear that things have now been set right.” He then turned his attention back to Loki. “Now, to deal with _this_ problem.”

Odin said it like Loki was some pest that needed to be exterminated, which caused an even greater hurt to surge through the trickster’s body. Wasn’t Odin happy to see him alive? Loki huffed indignantly, uttering a muffled protest. He turned his gaze to Thor as if expecting him to step in and defend him. Thor glanced at his brother before looking back at Odin.

“I thought you dead,” Odin continued, studying Loki. “I guess I was mistaken. Clearly, it was nothing more than another one of your foul tricks to deceive us all.”

Was that all? No, “Happy to see you, Loki.” or “Happy to have you back, my son.”? Not even a hug? Just as he suspected, Odin hadn’t missed him at all. And he had a lot of nerve to blame _him_ for his own disappearance. How could Odin say something like that when he watched him fall off the bridge without even trying to save him?

“Thor, you may remove the mouthpiece from your brother’s face.” Odin gestured at Loki. Thor nodded and did as he was told.

“Father,” Loki started immediately after the muzzle came off, “I can see that you aren’t happy to see me. But aren’t you even the least bit proud of me?”

“For what?—Nearly destroying a world?”

“But…I didn’t…”

“Silence!” Odin interrupted.

“But, Father, I only wanted to rule it. I didn’t mean for it to be destroyed! Please, listen to me!”

Odin hit the bottom of Gungnir on the floor with a loud bang that echoed through the empty throne room and halls. Loki jumped and took several steps back, his armor, helmet and all, shimmering into place by reflex. He swallowed and looked up at his father.

“I’m tired, Loki,” Odin began. “I’m tired of seeing the destruction that follows you wherever you go. If you want me to be proud of you, do something that will make me proud of you. I don’t ask you to be like Thor. All I ask is for you to leave behind this hatefulness and spitefulness and do something that earns respect and honor. Until you decide to do this, all you will get from me is punishment.”

Loki glared at Odin with hate in his emerald eyes.

“I hereby strip you of your powers and banish you to Midgard,” said Odin. “The same as I did with Thor.”

“What???” Loki’s eyes widened in fear. “Th-this is ludicrous!”

“You will stay there,” Odin continued, shooting Loki a glare for him to keep quiet until he finished, “until you learn humility, respect, and other qualities you currently lack. If that’s even possible.”

“What if it isn’t possible?” Loki stuttered.

“Then you’ll be there for a long time,” Odin replied, seating himself on his throne again.

“Bu-but why not just put me in prison? Why must you send me back to Midgard to suffer among the mortals?”

“You want to rule Midgard, don’t you?” Odin scowled. “You might as well see what life is like there from the inhabitants’ point of view.” He turned to Thor and handed back the Tesseract. “Thor, take your brother to Midgard and leave him there, and then return back here.”

Thor hesitantly took the Tesseract, worry and concern etching his face over his father’s decision.

“Father, may I look after my brother while he is on Midgard?” he asked. “I fear what might become of him while he is there alone.”

“Don’t worry about me, Thor, I can look after myself.” Loki rolled his eyes. Thor looked at him with both worry and annoyance before turning his attention back to Odin.

Odin shook his head, sadly. “I’m sorry, Thor, but that is not possible. I need you here to help repair the rest of the damages. But, since you show such concern for your brother, you may make accommodations for him with someone you trust before returning home. Perhaps these new friends you’ve made there would be able to handle the task of looking after him for you.”

“I’m not a child that needs looking after! I—” Loki blurted out, looking from Odin to Thor.

“Silence, Loki!” Odin shouted. “It is not your choice to make. After what you did, I am in agreement with Thor that you need caretakers! You say you are not a child, but you act like one! This is a punishment, not a stroll through the gardens!”

Loki lowered his head.

Thor thought over what Odin said. He knew S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers were a bad choice, considering the fact that they had just brought Loki down. Handing mortal Loki over to them would be like handing him over to his doom. There was one other person he knew and trusted, though. He hated asking her, but he didn’t know of anyone else. His mind made up, Thor nodded and turned, offering one end of the Tesseract’s casing to Loki, trying not to meet his brother’s staring eyes. Loki refused to grab onto it. Thor poked him with it. The trickster flinched when it touched a bruised and overly sensitive area of his side.

“Loki,” he said in a gentle whisper, “take it.”

Loki shook his head, tears beginning to appear in his eyes. He was finally home, after all of this time. He was finally safe and free of the Chitauri’s abusive, brain-washing hold. Now Odin wanted to send him away. He wanted to send Loki away to live among mortals, the lowest punishment he knew of. He suddenly wanted his mother, the only person who truly loved him. Turning, he looked around the room for her, but she wasn’t there.

“Where’s Mother?” he asked in a watery voice. “I want Mother! I want to see her!”

“Loki,” Thor warned. He knew Odin was mad at his brother and he didn’t want to see the situation become worse than it already was. “Grab the Tesseract and let’s go.”

Odin only shook his head slowly as he regarded Loki.

Sighing, Loki grabbed the Tesseract’s casing and twisted. In a flash both he and Thor disappeared.

 

When Loki reappeared, he crumpled to the ground as if all of the energy had been drained out of his body. Thor grabbed onto one of the horns of his helmet to keep him steady. Loki didn’t remember feeling this way the last time. Then it hit him…Odin had taken his powers away. So, in a sense, all of the energy _had_ been drained from him. He was now mortal. The very thought of it brought a sickness to his stomach.

“Are you all right, brother?” Thor said in concern, moving his hand down to grab his brother’s arm instead. Loki staggered to his feet, feeling dizzy.

“I-I think so.” He leaned against Thor and peered around at their surroundings. The Tesseract seemed to have placed them near a large apartment building. “Where are we?”

Thor said nothing the first few minutes as he pulled Loki toward the building. “I can’t say I agree with Father for what he has done. But at least banishment to this realm is better than death.”

“Speak for yourself,” Loki groaned, feeling dizzy again.

“I pity you, brother, which is why I’m going to leave you in the care of friends, at least to make your banishment easier and more comfortable,” Thor spoke in a caring tone.

“I don’t need anyone to care for me!” Loki snapped, pulling away from Thor. “I can handle this on my own.” He stumbled and Thor caught him by the cape and pulled him toward him, picking him up and slinging him over his shoulder to better carry him.

“Little brother, if you weren’t in such a sad state right now I’d tan your hide for that stubborn remark.”

Loki growled and kicked. “You wouldn’t dare!”

Thor delivered a firm warning smack to the wriggling bottom over his shoulder, causing Loki to yelp in surprise and fall still. “Care to test me further?”

“No…” Loki said weakly.

“You’re already in enough trouble as it is, Loki, please don’t make it worse.” Thor began walking again. “I fear what Father might do.”

“Y-yeah, me too,” Loki said quietly.

“Jane is a kind and wonderful person. I think you will like her,” Thor continued. “And I expect you to treat her well. Don’t give her trouble.”

Loki said nothing as Thor made his way to the second floor of the building.

 

“Thor?” said Jane in surprise, opening the door wider. “What are you doing here? How did you know where I was, for that matter?”

“Long story,” Thor simply said.

“Let me go, you blundering oaf!” Loki shouted, his legs kicking furiously, his booted feet hitting against the doorframe. He tried kicking Thor’s face as well, but Thor put a stop to it by grabbing hold of his legs and pinning them in place. Jane’s attention was suddenly drawn to the man slung over Thor’s shoulder and she stared blankly, her mind taking awhile for everything to sink in.

“I need to talk with you. May I come in?” said Thor. “It’s important.”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Jane stepped back and opened the door wide to allow Thor and his flailing brother through. When she closed the door and turned around, she finally recognized who it was over Thor’s shoulder. “You brought him here???”

“Yes, I had to,” said Thor.

“He just got through destroying New York, and you bring him here to my apartment? Shouldn’t he be in prison somewhere??”

Thor stood Loki on his feet, pulled him over to a chair, and forced him to sit down. He then turned to Jane.

“Jane, he’s been stripped of his powers and banished to Midgard…er…earth. He’s harmless and weak now—a mortal just as I was when you first met me.”

“Oh, that’s different,” Jane said sarcastically. “Thor, it still doesn’t change the fact that he killed innocent people.”

“I did not!” Loki protested, fighting the handcuffs that were badly getting on his nerves. “I was brainwashed and forced to do it against my will. I would never kill anyone…for fun, anyway. You have to believe me! For once I’m telling the truth!”

“Shush, Loki,” said Thor, throwing a glance back at the trickster. Loki huffed and sat back in his chair and pouted. Thor turned back to Jane. “I need you to do something for me.”

“Sure, what do you want me to do?”

“I need you to look after my brother for me.”

Jane studied Thor’s face for a few minutes, not entirely getting all of what he had just said. “What?”

“I need you to look after my brother during his banishment here on Midgard.”

“You want me to look after Loki?—the God of Mischief?” Jane blinked, her voice rising. “You want him to stay here??? Thor, are you insane?”

“Yes, he is. And I don’t need looking after,” Loki grumbled from his chair. “I can look after myself just fine.”

Jane and Thor ignored him.

“I had hoped that you would be kind enough to offer him a place to stay, yes,” Thor answered with a slight shrug. “But if it’s going to pose a problem…”

Jane slowly shook her head. “Thor, I…I don’t know if I’m up to the challenge of this. I don’t feel like I’m prepared…”

Thor tilted his head a bit. “You weren’t prepared when you met me.”

“This is different. That’s,” Jane gestured at the trickster and lowered her voice, “Loki sitting over there. Besides, he can’t stay here forever. Thor, I’ve got a life. I’ve got work. I’ve got research to do. I…” Jane threw her hands up and let them fall back down to her sides. “There’s no way I can babysit your little brother.”

Jane looked over at Loki again, noting the trickster’s hard stare at her. A chill ran down her at the thought of him living in her apartment.

Thor sighed, taking the Tesseract from under his arm where he’d been carrying it. “I’m sorry, Jane. I know it’s a big task for anyone. But, I have no one else to leave him with. It would be cruel to hand him over to the Avengers. They would lock him in a cell. You’re the only other person I trust. I just thought maybe you could look after him while he’s here to keep him out of trouble. He doesn’t need to be on his own. Not yet.”

Jane studied the floor before looking up at Thor again. “How long is he going to stay here, exactly?”

“That is up to Loki.” He turned to look at his brother. “Once he learns what Father wants him to learn, he’s free to come back home.”

“And what does Father Odin want him to learn?”

“Humility and respect, among other things.” Thor’s jaws worked. “Pretty much the same as it was with me.”

“The God of Mischief learning humility? But…but that could take forever!” Jane groaned, suddenly realizing the reality of the situation she was being pulled into.

“Yeah.”

Jane paced the floor, occasionally stopping to look over at Loki. He didn’t really look all that menacing up close, but still…the thought of her being alone with him again raced through her mind…

“I apologize for this being so sudden, but I didn’t know what else to do,” said Thor. “I don’t want him being out there alone. Not after what he did in New York.”

Jane closed her eyes and sighed. “Fine.” She gave in. “I know I’ll probably regret this later, but oh well. I’ll keep an eye on him…for now, anyway. I want you to come back here after three months to check on things. If by then I discover that I can’t handle him, you take him somewhere else.”

“Very well.” Thor nodded in agreement. “And thank you, Jane. I feel better knowing he’ll be in good hands. He may be a…pest, but he’s still family.”

“Oh, please…” Loki mumbled under his breath.

Thor walked over to Loki and removed the handcuffs, giving him a silent look that said, ‘behave’. “I also should warn. He may be mortal, but he can still lie and he still has his silver tongue, cunningness, and mischievousness, so beware of that.”

Jane studied Loki, the trickster looking back at her with a haughty, mischievous smirk. She made a mental note to keep her bedroom door locked at nights.

“If you have any trouble with him, you know who to contact,” said Thor, taking the Tesseract in his hands and walking toward the door. Jane nodded. Thor smiled at her, taking her in his arms and kissing her. 

“I’ve missed you,” he said when they pulled away.

She smiled. “I’ve missed you too. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about you.”

Loki rolled his eyes and made a gagging gesture.

“I love you,” she said quietly. “I wish you could stay longer.”

“Me too, but I am needed back in Asgard right now.” He gave her another smile, brushed some of her hair out of her face, and turned to leave.

“I promise I’ll look after him,” she called down the hall. Thor nodded at her then he disappeared in a flash of light. Jane stepped back inside and closed the door.

“THOR!” Loki roared, bolting up from his chair. Jane winced. “Don’t you dare leave me here!”

It was too late, though. Thor was already gone. Loki stomped his foot on the floor and kicked at the chair he had been sitting in. It hit a computer monitor, knocking it over.

“Hey! I know you’re mad over all of this, but you don’t have to take it out on my furniture,” said Jane.

The trickster turned and walked toward her, smiling. When he stopped in front of her, Jane lifted her hand and slapped Loki across the face the best she could. Most of the slap was absorbed by his helmet, but the trickster still turned a stunned expression toward her.

“That was for all of the damage you did to New York,” she said, rubbing the pain out of her hand. “Consider yourself lucky I didn’t aim lower down.”

Loki’s eyes widened and he placed his hands over his crotch to shield it, taking a step back.

“I can’t believe I’m going to be playing nursemaid to you,” Jane said disgustingly. “You don’t deserve to even be here!”

“You think I wanted this?” he shouted. “If it makes you feel any better, I want no part of any of it! I can take care of myself!” He stormed past Jane and was about to place his hand on the doorknob but was jerked back.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Jane gave his cape another hard tug. “Walk out that door and I’ll have Odin personally come here and deal with you himself.”

Loki’s nostrils flared and he snarled at the threat, advancing toward her. He stared her down, lowering his horns and peering at her from underneath the rim of his helmet.

“What are you going to do? Charge me?” Jane stood her ground. “Take another step and I swear I’ll let you have it in the tender area where you don’t have armor.”

Loki stopped. He nervously looked the small woman up and down, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “Pathetic mortal!”

“Look who’s talking. Thor said you’re mortal now, so watch what you say.”

Huffing, Loki turned his head and glared at the door.

“It’s for Thor I’m doing this. And I aim to see it through. So I want to get one thing straight right now. I will not stand for any trouble. If you so much as attempt walking out that door, I will tell Thor.”

Loki turned back to her. She still had her guard up, in case he decided to run her through. But she noticed that something suddenly changed in his facial features. The fight was gone from his eyes and his cheek muscles relaxed. He looked exhausted. Sighing, he walked over and stood before her, looking down his nose at her.

“Just watch yourself.” Jane pointed a finger at him. “This is my home, and what I say goes. I am in no mood to put up with your tricks.”

Loki smirked. “But I’m the God of Mischief.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s what scares me.”

“You have no authority over me, mortal woman,” he shouted. “You should be the one cowering before me!”

“Indoor voice, please. I live in an apartment.”

This made Loki even angrier. “Don’t talk like that to me, human!”

Jane sucked in a long breath and let it out in one exasperated blow through her nose. She pushed herself in his face. “As long as you’re under _my_ roof, I _do_ have authority over you. In case you’ve already forgotten, Thor left me in charge. So consider yourself under house arrest. If you wish to continue acting childish about it, I will treat you like a child.”

At this, Jane snatched the helmet off Loki’s head so fast that he didn’t even know what had happened until he felt a shooting pain through his right ear and realized that Jane had grabbed onto it.

“OW!” He cringed, gasping. Jane continued to squeeze it, causing the trickster to lean to the side. One thing was for sure. It reassured her that he really was mortal.

“Do I make myself clear?”

“YES!” Loki gasped out.

“So, who’s in charge again?”

“You are! Ouch!” Loki cried out, wincing. “Let go!”

“Good.” Jane let go and shoved the helmet back at Loki. He grabbed hold of it with one hand while he nursed his ear with the other, glaring daggers at the woman in front of him. Despite the pain and anger he felt, Loki couldn’t help but chuckle, watching Jane’s agitated state with some sort of sick pleasure. This could actually turn out to be fun, he thought. Brilliant.

“Come on, bull, and I’ll show you to your room.” She sighed, at last, walking a short distance toward the small hallway on her right. Loki followed. She stopped in front of the first door on her left and opened it up, flipped the ceiling light on, and gestured for Loki to enter first. “It’s not much, but I hope you find it comfortable.”

Loki entered, his eyes scanning the small room. It was big enough for a bed, two night tables, a dresser, and a chair. Not much else could fit into it. Jane ran over and scooped up a pile of clothes from the bed and straightened up a few things around the room. She normally used it as a storage room, so it had become kind of messy since she moved in. She threw everything into a cardboard box and tossed it out into the hall.

Loki just stood in the middle of the room, allowing his helmet to slowly slip from his hands and onto the bed. It sort of made Jane nervous, mainly because she didn’t know what was going through that head of his. What was one supposed to say and think of a man who had just got through terrorizing New York?

“Well?” she said.

“It’s small…” Loki replied, sounding disgusted.

“Yes, well, it’s an apartment. What can you expect? I’m fortunate to have two bedrooms.” Jane snatched up a few more loose articles of clothing and threw them into the box. “Just make yourself as comfortable as you can. Looks like you’re going to be here for awhile, despite what we both feel.”

Loki walked over and peered out the window.

“I’m about to eat dinner. Uh…want to…join me?”

Loki turned to look at her. He still rubbed at his wrists. “No, not…right now. I’d like to rest.”

Jane gave a nod. “Fine, have it your way. I’ll save you something, then.”

“Bring it to me in an hour,” he said simply. Jane turned a shocked expression toward him, not believing her ears.

“Excuse me? Do I look like one of your personal servants? It’ll be waiting for you in the kitchen. Come and get it when you want it.”

Loki glared at her.

“Bathroom’s directly across the hall. I’ll see about getting you some extra clothes.” At that she walked out, picked up her box, and disappeared. Loki stared a few minutes before turning his attention toward the window again. How dare that mortal treat him that way!


	2. Setting Boundaries

In the kitchen, Jane quickly dialed a number on her cell phone, placing the box of clothes on the floor next to the fridge. 

“Hello, Darcy? This is Jane. Not so good. I need you to do me a favor.” Jane pulled a covered dish out of the oven and put it on the counter. She leaned over to look toward the hallway to make sure Loki was still in his room. “You will never guess what happened. Thor dropped a ‘happy’ guest by my place a few minutes ago. Loki.”

Jane cringed and held the phone away from her ear until Darcy calmed down. She pulled a drawer out and picked out a spoon, then reached for a plate. She eased the phone closer to her ear again.

“He’s being punished. Yeah, Odin stripped him of his powers and banished him on earth until he learns a lesson. And guess what? Thor dropped him off here because he wants _me_ to babysit him while he’s on earth. Yeah, lucky me. So I need you to run out and get some men’s clothes for me—everyday clothes, lounge clothes, night clothes, socks, underwear, shoes, everything. Yes, really. No, I don’t know what size. Just…extra large, I guess? Whatever size you think Thor would wear, only not as bulky.” She glanced toward the hall again. “And be sure you get something in green. He…seems to like green. The last thing I need is an Asgardian throwing a tantrum because he didn’t get his favorite color.” She rolled her eyes up at the ceiling. “I’ll reimburse you for whatever you get, okay? Darcy, just do this for me, please. It’s an emergency. I’m in a tight enough situation as it is. I need help with this. Thank you.”

Jane hung up. She turned around and jumped when she saw Loki standing in the doorway. He inched into the kitchen, eyeing everything like a curious child. She noticed a red spot on his upper cheek…from where she had slapped him.

“You startled me,” she said. “I didn’t know you were there.”

Loki offered no apology.

“Have you…decided to join me, then?”

“No.”

“Okay…” Jane put the casserole dish on the table, along with her plate.

“My…” Loki looked down like he was ashamed, “My wrists hurt.”

“Here, let me have a look.” Jane stepped closer. Loki recoiled. “It’s okay; I’m just going to take a look.”

Loki finally gave in, offering his hands to Jane. His wrists weren’t as bad as he made out, she discovered—a few tiny scrapes at the most. Maybe a little dried blood. She walked over to the sink, wet a cloth, and came back. She cleaned the cuts, nervously stealing glances up at Loki every-so-often as if she expected him to attack her. Surprisingly, he made no attempts. He just stood there, calmly watching her hands work, or rather he stared. She guessed that he was tired. He looked it. She noticed that he was fighting to keep his eyes open. That’s when she saw the gash across his nose for the first time.

“You…have…a…” She nervously pointed to his nose. Without saying a word, he cautiously leaned over and allowed her to wipe the blood off. His eyes squeezed shut with every swipe of the cloth. She noticed that his clothes were still dirty and dusty from the battle in New York, and she wondered what had happened to finally bring him down. As if on cue, a piece of stone flooring dislodged itself from a crevice of his armor and fell on the floor at her feet. She looked at it and then looked back at Loki, not entirely understanding. He moved his feet restlessly and refused to look at her face as if the sight of the piece brought back bad memories for him.

Jane wasn’t going to say anything about the matter. Instead, she picked up the piece of floor and chucked it into the trash bin.

“There, I think you’re cleaned up enough for now. My friend and colleague Darcy—she actually lives in an apartment a few floors up—will be coming by shortly to drop off some fresh clothes for you. You can take a shower and change then.”

Loki nodded, turned, and walked toward his bedroom. Jane was actually beginning to wonder if this was the same man she had heard about on the news. He seemed so calm, albeit a bit nervous, not anything like the madman they had described.

 

Jane opened the door to let Darcy inside.

“It’s about time.” Jane sighed. Then she lowered her voice to a whisper. “I’ve been here alone with him for two hours!”

“Sorry,” Darcy whispered back. “I had to go to, like, ten different stores before I found something.”

“I can still hear you, you know,” a calm voice interrupted the women’s hushed conversation. 

“Whoa!” Darcy shouted when she saw Loki standing in the doorway of the hall. “Awkward.” She put her bags down on the floor.

“Me standing here or me listening in on you two whisper?”

Darcy could only smile nervously.

“Darcy, meet Loki.”

“Yeah, we’ve met. I saw what he did on the news not long ago.”

“It wasn’t me!” Loki said, stepping into the living room. “It was those aliens. They brainwashed me.”

“Right.” Darcy nodded, still smiling. “Alright then, here are the clothes.” She picked up the bags and started dumping out their contents on the couch, all the time rambling about having to go to multiple men’s stores and searching through endless clothing until she finally found things. Loki had never heard a human talk so much or so fast. “…I hope what I selected is…satisfactory…for a god of Asgard.”

Jane and Darcy both started rummaging through the pile, Loki slowly walking into the room and up behind the two women. He curiously looked over their shoulders.

“Let’s see,” said Darcy, sorting the clothing into individual piles, “Here are T-shirts, some jeans, cargo pants, pjs, three packs of socks and boxer shorts…” She turned to look at Loki. “Yep, you’re definitely a boxers man.”

Loki raised an eyebrow at that, wondering how she knew he had worn boxers on his past trips to Midgard.

Jane picked up a couple of T-shirts in varying shades of green. Then she reached to pick up the pair of celery green, silky pajamas and a matching pair of slippers.

“You did good, Darcy, especially for it being such short notice.”

“Thank you.” Darcy picked up another bag. “And here are some shoes. I wasn’t sure what kind to get or how many pairs to get so I thought, what the heck, I’ll get at least four, because you can never have too many shoes.” She pulled out a couple of pairs of white tennis shoes, a pair of black leather boots, and some sandals. Loki immediately cringed when he saw the sandals but said nothing.

“You might want to try these on.” Jane handed some of the clothes to Loki. “Make sure they fit.”

“Yeah, you might want to do that,” Darcy agreed. “I wasn’t sure what size to get in everything, so I just guessed.”

Wearily, Loki carried the clothes he had been given back to his room. Darcy and Jane carried the rest. Surprisingly, the clothes fit perfectly. Jane couldn’t figure out how that was even possible. Darcy, on the other hand, just figured she was good at guessing sizes.

When Loki was in the shower, Jane pulled Darcy into the kitchen.

“Please say you can spend the night,” Jane pleaded. “You can bunk on my bedroom floor and we can lock the door. I just feel like having someone I know here with me.”

“Sure, I’ll run upstairs and get a few things and come back.” Darcy walked to the doorway. “I’ve always wanted to spend the night in an apartment with a psycho Norse god down the hall. But what do you expect me to do if he goes berserk?”

“Tase him?”

“Seriously? You want me to bring the taser?”

Jane hesitated a moment, finally nodding. “Maybe you’d better. Just in case.”

“All right,” Darcy said, disappearing into the living room. Jane heard the front door open and close.

Loki emerged from the bathroom while Darcy was away. He walked slowly into the living room where Jane was sitting on the couch, watching the news. She looked over at him. He was dressed in his new pajamas and slippers; his wet hair sticking out in even more cowlicks, looking like it had exploded the moment water was applied. He looked so different, she thought. Without his armor and Asgardian clothes, he looked like a normal young man. Much to her surprise, she found her heart softening the moment her eyes landed on him. He looked so thin and…well…lost, like he didn’t belong there. He stood and glanced over all of the computers, monitors, wires, astrological and science equipment, and other items cluttering the floor and tables, nervously twisting and wringing the sleeves of his shirt. Then he turned his eyes to the TV. Reports of the New York attack were playing on the screen, making Loki look even more anxious and uncomfortable. Jane quickly turned it off and tossed the remote on the coffee table.

“Hey,” she said softly with a smile. “Feeling better?”

Loki shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Hungry?”

He nodded.

“Come on.” She got up and walked to the kitchen. Loki followed, stopping once to inspect more of the clutter.

“I thought you weren’t going to get it for me.”

“I’m politely serving you here in my kitchen because you’re a guest. I’m not going to bring it to you in bed.” She opened the oven and pulled out a plate covered over with aluminum foil. “Besides, you’re new here and don’t know your way around yet. I don’t want you setting fire to the place or something.”

A brief smirk appeared on Loki’s lips at the amusing thought of that, and then he frowned. “I’m not completely ignorant of Midgard culture like you seem to think.” He slowly pulled out a chair and sat down.

“Thor was.”

“He would be. He’s a dolt.”

“Hey!” Jane turned around to face him. “Don’t talk about him that way.”

“Oooooo, I think I hit a nerve.” He smiled. “But you know it’s true.”

Jane roughly set the plate of food down in front of Loki, along with a glass of milk. The trickster looked down at the slop on his plate and back up at Jane.

“What is this?” He wrinkled his nose, poking at it with his fork.

“Tuna casserole,” she said irritably.

“It looks and smells horrible.” He gagged. “What’s in it?”

Jane sighed, rolling her eyes up at the ceiling. “Tuna fish. That’s why it’s called tuna casserole. It also has noodles, green peas, bread crumbs, soup, cheese, onion, butter…”

Loki lifted an eyebrow skeptically and looked down at his plate. He poked part of it with his fork again as if he expected it to move. He sniffed and pushed the plate back.

“Eat it or starve,” she snapped, tossing a bag of Doritos onto the table as an afterthought. Loki smiled, looking quite pleased with himself. “Listen, mister, I’m going to tell you right now that you’re walking a very thin line. Thor left me in charge of you. You’re living in my apartment now. You will eat what’s put before you or go without. You will do your part to clean up after yourself. And if you try any funny business with me, I’ll see to it that your stay here turns into a very unpleasant one. Understand?”

“A challenge, then? I accept.” Loki smiled.

“I mean it.” Jane gave him a warning glare. “You are confined to this apartment unless I say otherwise. I can’t have you running loose out on the streets, doing who knows what.”

“Confined?” Loki’s smile faded. “That’s not fair! I’m an adult! I can do whatever I want!”

“What part have you not understood? As long as I’m looking after you, I do not want you going out that front door unless I’m with you.”

“Or you’ll do what?”

“Trust me, you don’t want to know.” Jane’s voice had an edge to it, which sort of unnerved Loki. The truth was Jane had no idea what she would do if Loki did something drastic, as she was totally unprepared to deal with a god-turned-mortal. But she didn’t want to let him know that.

“You have no control over me, mortal,” Loki mumbled quietly.

“I’m sorry. What did you say?” Jane pushed herself over the table and into his face.

“Nothing.”

Jane nodded. “I thought so.”

Loki glared at her, saying nothing more. Giving Loki one last stare down, Jane turned and walked out of the kitchen.

After she left, Loki smiled to himself.


	3. And The Toaster Shall Fly

Jane and Darcy finished their breakfast and washed dishes before they heard anything stirring around Loki’s room. The trickster slept late, and they weren’t about to say anything about it. Neither of them felt the need to go in and disturb him either. The bigger the distance Jane put between them, the better. Besides, he looked like he could use the sleep. She didn’t want to find out how cranky Loki could be if she woke him up before he was ready to get up.

Darcy and Jane sat at the kitchen table, two mugs of coffee and their cell phones in front of them. They quietly listened as Loki’s bedroom door opened and he made his way to the bathroom, grumbling to himself the whole way. The door slammed closed and there was a sickening sound like he tackled the entire bathroom in a single sweep. A shattering crash was heard immediately after, which sounded like the shower curtains and rod coming down. Jane cringed, knowing right away that it was the result of that horrid bath mat. She had tripped over it quite a few times herself.

“Sounds like the God of Happiness, Unicorns, and Rainbows is awake,” said Darcy, rolling her eyes over to look at Jane.

Jane punched her in the arm with her elbow. “If he hears you call him that, he’ll kill you.”

“Sooo, what are we going to do with him? He can’t stay here forever.”

Jane took a sip of her coffee. “He’s going to stay here.”

“What??”

“I told Thor that I’d keep Loki for now, then after three months Thor is going to stop by to see how things are going. If I decide that I just can’t handle him, Thor will take him somewhere else.”

“Three months? You’re going to let him stay here…for three months? Jane, don’t ever say that I need help. _You’re_ the one who needs help.”

Jane shrugged. “It’ll be a challenge for awhile, but once Loki learns who the boss is, I’m certain I can handle him.”

Darcy laughed at that. “You’re going to tame the trickster?”

Jane gave Darcy and exasperated look. “He’s had his powers taken away, so he can’t do any damage. He’s completely mortal, the same as we are.”

“Wanna bet?” Darcy checked her phone for an answer to her last text. “He’s a trickster, the God of Mischief slash Chaos, in case you’ve forgotten. I’m pretty sure he’s dangerous as a mortal, too.”

Jane leaned back in her chair. “But Thor was completely mortal when he was stripped of his power. You should have seen Loki last night when I grabbed hold of his ear. He went down in pain.”

“Jane you’re also forgetting that Loki is also the god of lies and deceitfulness. He has a cunning mind that’s always working. I’m very doubtful that went away when he was stripped of power because…that would not be part of his power. Believe me, there are mortals that act the same way. Don’t ask me how I know. I just do.”

Jane went silent, suddenly remembering what Thor had told her about that part.

“You know. You’re right. We’d better keep a close eye on him,” she finally said.

“ _You_ ,” Darcy corrected, sipping her coffee.

“Darcy,” Jane groaned. “Please help me out on this.”

“I didn’t hear any complaints when Thor was dropped here.” Darcy smiled playfully.

“That’s because I love Thor. I don’t love Loki.”

“But, Jane, you have to love him to a certain extent. If you marry Thor, Loki will be your brother-in-law. So he’s future family. _Your_ family. Not mine. Thank goodness.”

Jane slammed her mug down on the table and gave Darcy a hard look. “Sometimes I hate when you’re right.”

“Um,” a new voice came from the doorway, “brother-in-law?”

Jane and Darcy simultaneously turned to look in that direction. Jane blushed and cleared her throat.

“My but you’re looking sharp today,” said Darcy, her eyes sweeping the length of the trickster.

Loki looked down at his new green T-shirt and black jeans. “Yeah, they’re lovely.”

“Are you okay?” said Jane walking over to him. “We heard a crash.”

Loki blushed. “I’m fine…sort of. I think I hurt my knee a little…”

“I’m so sorry,” said Jane. “I should have thrown out that rug a long time ago. Here, have a seat.” She helped him to the empty chair. Loki limped over to it and sat down.

“It’s okay,” he said quietly, nursing his injured knee.

“I’ll get you some breakfast.”

Loki eyed Darcy. “What were you talking about brother-in-law?”

“Oh, that.” Darcy laughed.

“Heeeeere you go.” Jane quickly placed a bowl of cold cereal and a glass of milk in front of Loki, cutting the conversation off on purpose. He looked down at it and up at Jane. “Don’t tell me you dislike cereal too.”

“Is this it?” said Loki, pointing to the bowl.

“Yes.”

“You humans don’t have very big breakfasts, do you? This is barely enough to keep a bird alive.”

Jane sighed and held in what she was about to say. “Like I said last night; you don’t like it, you can starve.”

“But what about all of the fruits and meats and cheeses?”

Jane reached over and plucked an apple and a banana from the fruit bowl and put them down on the table in front of Loki. He looked at them and back to Jane.

“Knock yourself out.”

“She doesn’t mean literally. It’s just a figure of speech,” Darcy explained.

“I know what she’s talking about,” Loki snapped. “I’m not dumb.”

“Although, the literal sense would be nice.” Jane smirked, earning another glare from the trickster.

Without saying a word, Loki got up and limped over to the counter and pulled out the toaster.

“While you’re busy being smart, do you have any bread?” he asked. Jane pointed to the top of the fridge. He reached over, grabbed it up, and stuck two pieces in the toaster and shoved the lever down.

“Whoa,” Darcy remarked. “Thor wouldn’t have been able to do that.”

Jane shot Darcy a glare.

“What?” she asked. “It’s true. He probably wouldn’t even know what a toaster is, let alone what it’s used for.”

“What about the brother-in-law,” Loki brought up the subject again, crossing his arms over his chest and smirking in satisfaction that he finally proved to these women he wasn’t a complete moron when it came to earth technology.

“I just said that if Jane marries Thor, you’d be her brother-in-law.”

“Darcy!” Jane cried.

“Her brother-in-law??” Loki exclaimed.

“Do they do things differently in Asgard?”

Loki’s mouth worked before he could get his next words out. “Why would I want _her_ as a sister-in-law??” The toast popped up and Loki reached to take it out and put it on a plate. “You know, I honestly don’t understand what Thor sees in you.”

Jane’s eyes widened at that remark. Darcy nervously looked between the two.

“Excuse me?” said Jane, walking over to Loki. “And what is _that_ supposed to mean?”

“It means what it means,” he sneered. “You’re a…mortal. You’re beneath any Asgardian.”

The slap came so fast that Loki didn’t know what hit him until after it was over and the sting started settling into his cheek. Stunned, he slowly turned his head to Jane. His eyes grew dangerously glassy. 

“Is this going to be a regular habit?!” he yelled, rubbing his cheek.

“It might if you keep provoking me,” Jane yelled louder. “It’s not what I would like to do to you, but it’s a start. Consider yourself fortunate that I promised Thor I’d look after you. Otherwise, you’d be in a very bad situation.”

Suddenly, without warning, Loki picked up the toaster and threw it through the kitchen window, the deafening sound of shattering glass filling everyone’s ears.

“Holy—” Darcy exclaimed. “He threw the toaster out the window!”

“LOKI!” Jane screamed, looking at the broken window and then to Loki. “Why did you do that?”

Loki shrugged. “You slapped me! And I don’t want you as a sister-in-law.”

“But that’s no reason to throw the toaster out the window.” She turned to Darcy for help. Her friend just stood there looking dumbfounded. Loki returned to the table with his plate of toast and began eating like nothing had happened.

“Help me out here, Darcy,” Jane said.

“What do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know. Tell him to…go to his room…or something.”

“Jane, the man is sitting right here.”

“He threw my toaster out the window!” Jane shouted.

“I know! I saw it! I was right here!” Darcy threw her hands up.

“It was evil,” said Loki calmly. “You should get another one.”

Jane did all she could to keep from walking over and slapping Loki in the face again. She clenched her fists at her sides and turned around to face the window.

“O-kaaaay, I think we all need to cool down,” said Darcy, walking over and taking Jane by the arm and pulling her into the living room.

“What is wrong with him??” Jane angrily whispered. “It seems like he’s finding pleasure in making me angry!”

“Jane, Jane...” Darcy forced Jane to sit on the couch. “He’s a trickster, remember? He’s just messing with your mind. Right now, you need to calm down. Just breathe. Here, take a pillow and squeeze it.”

Jane took a deep breath and let it out, accepting the pillow. “He hasn’t even been here a full day, and already I can’t stand it.”

“And you’re going to have him here for three months?”

“Argh, don’t remind me.”

“I think you’re still upset over the fact that you’re stuck with him. Maybe you just need to face facts that he’s here now and you’re going to have to learn to live with it. Try to get along with him and don’t let what he says bother you. If he knows he’s making you upset, he’ll just keep on doing it.”

“But what he did to New York…” Jane’s words trailed off. “I’m having a hard time facing the fact that the person responsible for all of that is sitting in my kitchen eating breakfast. He needs to be in prison, not in my home!”

“I know.” Darcy glanced into the kitchen. “Which is why you need to cool off. If you keep getting angry at him for that, you’re going to end up doing something you’ll regret. I could tell that slap you gave him was for more than just him acting like a jerk.”

Jane nodded.

“Besides, you have to look at the situation from his point of view too. He got his butt kicked by the Avengers and he’s been made mortal and left on our planet for punishment. He’s obviously going through some sort of emotional crisis right now, which is perfectly normal. So both of you are upset in your own ways and it’s clashing. I’m pretty sure that after a few days or a week, he’ll calm down and start getting used to our way of life.”

“I hope you’re right,” Jane mumbled. “If it’s going to be like this from now on, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Darcy patted Jane’s shoulder. “Just wait and see. If worse comes to worse, you can always get him his own apartment.”

“But how would I keep an eye on him?”

“I dunno.” Darcy sighed, looking at the ceiling. “I’m sure we can think of something, though. Like…put a tracking device on him, maybe? Or one of those shock dog collars?”

“Darcy…” Jane smirked at Darcy’s last suggestion. “As much as it pains me to say it, that’s kinda cruel.”

“Kidding!”

 

After breakfast, Loki returned to his room to both gloat and sulk in private. He flopped tummy down on the bed and sighed, turning to stare out the window. He had succeeded in annoying Jane, but at the same time, he was becoming so frustrated over the fact that he was mortal and helpless. Already he felt like a caged animal. If only he had his powers back the tables would certainly turn. He would show her. He would turn _her_ into an animal or something and keep _her_ in a cage. Or maybe he wouldn’t. He silently admitted that he kinda liked Jane, even if she was annoying. She had spunk. Both of them did. And they were fun to mess with. Besides, if he did hurt Jane he’d have to answer to Thor for it.

He scowled.

Thor—how dare he leave him here with both of those women! He was an adult! He could take care of himself just fine. He had hoped that when Odin made him mortal he would be able to be on his own and do whatever he wanted…like finding the scepter he lost. But nooooooo, Thor had to go and give him a babysitter to keep an eye on him. And Odin had agreed to it. He lay there fuming, chewing at his fingernail. His mind worked furiously over how he was going to get out of the apartment and obtain the scepter. A part of him didn’t want to find it since it had been partly the cause of his misery while under the Chitauri’s control. Let the cursed thing be someone else’s problem, he thought. It brought back too many bad memories for him. But at the same time, he didn’t see any other way out of all of this. If he got hold of the scepter, he would be able to get out of this whole mess and go somewhere else where no one would ever have to see him again. No one wanted him, so he would just do everyone a favor by disappearing completely. A tear trickled down his cheek.

Loki slammed his fist into the bed. He would have to put up with Jane until he worked out a way to get out of the apartment and move on to the next part of his plan. Or…maybe Jane was one of the main keys he needed. She was Thor’s girlfriend, after all, as well as friends with other people…like that doctor, scientist guy he brainwashed. What was his name again?—Sl-Selvig? Yeah, that was it. Selvig would probably know where the scepter is. If he could somehow get information as to what happened after the Avengers closed the wormhole, he could go and track the scepter down. Until then, he could entertain himself by turning Jane against Thor in order to get back at his bumbling brother for leaving him with her, just for fun. He would also have to work at softening Jane up if he ever hoped to get out of the apartment. Jane was already ticked off at him for just being there, and he already knew where her weak points were. It would be a fairly simple job.

Loki smiled, pleased with his new plans. He would have to start working on Jane right away. He got up off the bed and moseyed out into the hall. He glanced into the living room and caught sight of Jane doing something on her laptop, a star chart in one hand and a pencil in her mouth. Quickly, he ran to her bedroom and slipped inside. He eased the door closed behind him and flipped on the light. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to do, other than being nosey. He walked over to the closet and opened it. Taking a quick mental note of the clothes, shoes, and storage boxes, he closed it again. He looked under the bed and in the drawer of the night table. Here he came across some papers of which he glanced at. There were a few phone numbers, scribbled notes, and random business cards for Chinese takeouts, but nothing important he could use—nothing that pointed to Selvig. There was a small jewelry box on the table. He opened it and pulled out a long, shiny necklace to examine closer. He could take it and hide it in his room and blame Thor for stealing it. But he would need Thor to come there first for that to work. He returned the necklace to its box, the gears in his mind turning. Maybe when Thor came by in three months…

Loki was in the middle of going through the drawers of the dresser when a throat being cleared startled him into looking up. He took a step back.

“What are you doing?” Jane asked. Loki swallowed, looking like a child caught doing something it shouldn’t be doing. He blinked and looked down at the pairs of panties and bra in his hand. He hadn’t even noticed what he was holding. He dropped them and shut the drawer, his cheeks turning the slightest red.

“Books,” he lied. “I’m looking for books. Do you have any? I’m bored and need reading material.”

Jane raised an eyebrow. “No one stores books in a dresser. Besides, you could have just asked me.”

Loki flashed a sheepish grin.

“Come on, Mister Nosey.” Jane sighed and ushered him out of the room and shut the door. She was fighting to keep her temper in check, not exactly thrilled at having a Norse god rummaging through her underwear drawer. Already she felt like a parent keeping an eye on a child…an overgrown child at that. Gracious, she felt sorry for Odin and Frigga. No wonder Odin wanted to banish him to another planet. She led Loki to a small built-in bookcase in one of the walls of the living room and pointed to it.

“Take whatever you want, but be sure to return them when you’re finished reading them. I don’t want them going to your room to die there.”

“The libraries on Asgard are much bigger,” he commented.

Jane rolled her eyes and seated herself on the couch again. “I’m sure they are.”

“Do you have any books on magic or spells?”

“No. And if I did, I wouldn’t give them to you.”

Loki looked over at her, chewing at his bottom lip. He turned back and began picking up books and looking them over. “You know, it’s a shame Thor couldn’t have stayed longer.”

Jane looked up from her laptop. “Why do you suddenly say that?”

Loki shrugged. “I can tell that you miss him.”

“I thought you said earlier that we weren’t meant for each other.”

“I said that I couldn’t understand what he sees in you. I never said you weren’t meant for each other. But now that you mention it, I don’t really see how you two could ever be together. I mean, you’re human, he isn’t. Do you honestly think the All-Father would let you into Asgard if you married Thor?”

Jane said nothing as she sat there contemplating what Loki had just said.

“You know, I’ve said enough already,” he said with a smile, taking an armful of books and walking to his room. He closed the door and leaned against it. It was just too easy.

 

Loki read late into the evening until he heard a small knock on his door.

“Come in,” he said. Jane poked her head inside. The trickster was seated on the floor in front of the window, his back leaning against the bed. He had an opened book resting on one of his knees. The rest of the books he brought with him were spread out around him. His horned helmet sat in the corner, next to the night table on the other side of him.

“Yes?” he said curiously. Jane couldn’t help noticing the innocence in his green eyes. It amazed her how Loki could look so sinister one minute and completely innocent the next. It was like he had multiple personalities—one good and one bad—that he constantly shifted between. It was like a flip of a coin, you never knew which side was going to come up.

“Darcy stopped by a little while ago. She brought you some more books.” She slipped a hand through the crack and held up a book for him to see. He motioned for her to come inside. Jane walked over and put the sack of books down on his bed. “She also brought some more things you might need.” Jane emptied out another sack, pouring items out on the bed such as a toothbrush, aftershave, hairdryer, a shaver, a hairbrush, a comb, and some more T-shirts and other clothing and toiletry items. She held up the shaver. “You’re getting a little scruffy.”

Loki’s hand rose to feel of the stubble on his chin. “Thank you…” he whispered.

“And your lips look like they could use this.” She held up a tube of chapstick. Loki felt of his lips, slowly taking the item from her hand.

“Why are you doing this?” he softly asked.

“Just trying to be nice. I may not like the current circumstances, but I can’t stand by and see you suffer.”

“It’s too late for that. I started suffering the moment Thor brought me to this wretched hole. If you’d just let me go, you won’t have to concern yourself with me anymore.”

“Nice try, but no. You’re staying here, so deal with it.” Jane walked to the door. “Dinner will be ready in an hour.”

Loki’s nose flared and he stared hatefully as the door closed behind her. He didn’t understand why his silver tongue and manipulative power wasn’t working on this mortal. Even without his power and magic, it should work. Sighing, he looked down at the shaver. Might as well shave, he thought. He hated having a beard of any sort. It reminded him too much of Thor and Odin.


	4. A Spoiled Prince

Loki rolled over in bed and scowled up at the ceiling. What was the use of having people at your disposal if they weren’t going to do what you wanted them to do?

“I am NOT bringing your breakfast to you!” Jane shouted from the other side of the door. “If you want it, you can drag your spoiled, lazy rear out of that bed and come into the kitchen and get it! I told you before that I am not your personal servant.”

Loki reached over and picked up the digital clock on the night table.

“And don’t you dare throw anything else out a window!” Jane shouted.

Loki roughly set the clock down. How did she know? Could she see through the door?

“I don’t feel like getting out of bed today,” he said.

“You can starve, then.”

“If I was in Asgard, my personal servants would bring whatever I wanted to me.”

“You aren’t in Asgard. You’re in my home. Around here, if you want something you get it yourself. Odin put you here to learn some lessons, right? Well, the first lesson you’re going to learn is how to do things for yourself. You’ve got legs. Use them.”

After she said her piece, Jane stomped off through the living room and into the kitchen. The morning hadn’t started out very well. Loki had woken up in an extra ornery mood. He refused to get up and expected her to bring breakfast to him, even though he already knew perfectly well that she wasn’t going to.

“Bu-but I don’t feel well,” Loki lied with a whine. “I think I’m ill with something. Probably some horrid disease from this wretched realm.”

“You look fine to me.” Jane walked through the living room and up to Loki. The trickster was peeking out of the bedroom door. “You must be or you wouldn’t have made it this far. Get dressed and come on. And I want you to clean up your room after we eat.”

“What for?” he said irritably.

“I told you that you’re going to have to clean up after yourself as long as you stay here. Keeping your room picked up is part of it.”

“I don’t have to if I don’t want to! If I was on Asgard the servants would do it for me!” He slammed the door shut and silence followed.

Jane sighed. “Why me?”

Loki eventually came out of his bedroom and fixed himself a bowl of cereal and some toast in the new toaster that Darcy brought by the day before. While eating, he occasionally glanced at the piece of cardboard taped over the hole in the window and smirked like it was a work of art.

“I see you finally emerged,” said Jane, walking by. “Was it hard for the poor baby to get out of bed and walk in here?”

Loki glared at her dangerously. “Do not call me that again.”

“Well, don’t act like it and I won’t,” Jane answered, finally finding the notebook she was looking for under a pile of papers at the other end of the table.

“It wouldn’t hurt for you to serve me. I’m not used to doing things on my own,” said Loki, taking a bite of cereal.

“This coming from the man who shouted that he could take care of himself?” Jane’s eyebrows rose in surprise. Loki was silent. “Mm-hm, nice trick. Guess what? This is what it means to take care of yourself. Be sure to clean up after you get through. Just leave the dishes in the sink.” She tossed a wet dish rag on the table before leaving the room. “And I expect you to get to work on your room after you get through. Otherwise, no lunch for you until you do clean it.”

Loki stared at the rag as if he could will it out of existence. A tear formed in his eye and he sniffed it away. He wasn’t sure how much more he would be able to take of this.

 

Later that morning, Jane sat at the kitchen table, her laptop open in front of her and a collection of different gadgets, charts, and photos spread out around it. She was deep into studying a chart on her laptop’s screen and jotting down notes. So much so that she didn’t even hear Loki approach until he dumped an armful of clothes onto the floor at her feet. She jumped in surprise and looked down then up at Loki, giving him a questioning stare.

“My room is now clean,” he said bitterly. “I need these clothes washed, pressed, and back in my room in an hour.”

Jane continued to stare at him. “Loki, I’m working.”

“I need them washed _now_ ,” he demanded. “If you don’t, I’m leaving.”

“No, you aren’t,” she said sternly, putting her pencil down.

“Yes, I am,” he said, huffing.

“Don’t you dare use that tone with me.” Jane glared, trying to keep control of the conversation.

“I can use whatever tone I please.” Loki smirked. “And you can’t do a thing about it.”

He looked as smug as he could possibly look. Jane’s first reaction was to slap it right off, but she resisted…for now. Instead, she got up. Despite himself, Loki took a step back.

“Oh, yes I can. And I’ll tell you what I’m going to do about it.” She bent over and picked up a shirt. “I’m going to show you how to wash clothes and you’re going to wash them yourself.” She threw the shirt into his arms, gathered up the remaining clothes, and shoved them in his arms, too. “Come with me.”

“No! I want you to wash them,” he blurted out. “You can’t do this to me! I’m a prince of Asgard. It’s beneath me to wash my own clothes!”

“Not anymore, you aren’t. You’re mortal, just like me. So it isn’t beneath you.” Jane led him to a small closet beside the bathroom and pulled out a laundry basket and a bottle of laundry detergent. She offered the basket to Loki. “Toss your clothes in here and we’ll take them downstairs.”

Loki looked at the basket, a bit worried. He threw in everything he held in his arms and followed Jane out the front door.

“I’m letting you out of the apartment just this once because I’m with you. I want you to understand that,” she said with a hint of warning in her voice, pressing the elevator button. “If I ever catch you going out that door without me, you’ll be in trouble.”

When the elevator landed on the main floor, Jane took Loki to the apartment building’s laundry room. There were several other people already there. An elderly woman was folding her clothes on their right. She looked up when Jane and Loki walked in.

“Why hello, Jane,” she greeted.

“Hello, Mrs. Greendly.”

“You have a new boyfriend?” she asked, looking at Loki. Loki blushed and looked down at his feet.

“No, he isn’t my boyfriend. He’s my boyfriend’s brother. He’s just visiting for awhile.” Jane turned to Loki. “These washers and dryers are shared by everyone in the building,” she explained. “You have to pay a small fee in order to use them.”

“Wait.” Loki held up his hand. “You mean that everyone else washes their clothes in these same machines?”

“Yes.”

“That’s nasty.”

Jane rolled her eyes, pulling some money out of her pants pocket. “Loki, do you want your clothes washed or not?”

He nodded.

“Okay, then.” She pulled out some clothes. “You wash lights and darks separately. Put them in the tub, and then put your soap in.”

Jane went through all of the motions, explaining each step as simply as she could. When she started the washer, she turned a smiling face to Loki, but…Loki wasn’t there. 

“Loki!” she shouted, running out into the lobby. Since he was powerless, he couldn’t teleport so he had to have disappeared on foot, which meant he couldn’t have gotten far. Sure enough, he was halfway to the front door. Jane ran and caught hold of his shirt and yanked him back. He spun around, fear washing over his face when his eyes landed on Jane. She gave him a cold, hard glare, her mouth working silently. She pointed to the laundry room.

“Don’t make this difficult for the both of us. Just quietly go back in there,” she whispered. Pouting, Loki obeyed.

 

“I can’t believe you tried to leave!” Jane angrily shouted, slamming the door of her apartment when they returned. She threw the laundry basket of freshly dried clothes on the floor and put her hands on her hips.

“I wasn’t going to leave!” Loki shouted back, lying. “I was just taking a little walk and I wanted to see what was going on outside. Is that so bad?”

“You should have said something and we could have gone together after I put the clothes in to wash. The clothes I was showing _you_ how to wash, I might add. You left in the middle of me explaining it to you.”

“Oh, I am _so_ very sorry, your highness,” he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “It was utterly boring, anyway.”

“You know what I think?” Jane crossed her arms over her chest. “I think you’re nothing but a spoiled brat. If you can’t get your way, then you’re going to find some way of getting it. You wanted me to take you down there and show you how to wash those clothes, didn’t you? You were planning to walk out the front door all along.”

Loki smirked at her. “What if I did? And what if I was?”

She shook a finger at him. “You try that again, and you will find yourself in deep trouble.”

“See if I care,” he snapped. “I don’t even want to be here.”

“If you don’t change your attitude, you’ll never leave here.”

Loki shot her a glare.

“Might I remind you that you’re banished here until you learn to act like somebody? So I suggest that you change that spiteful attitude of yours and get yourself straightened out. If you don’t, you’re not going to be leaving here for a very long time.” She picked up the basket of clothes and shoved it into Loki’s arms and walked off.

He stood there, looking down at the clothes basket. “I thought Thor was going to come by after three months?”

“He is,” Jane said from the kitchen doorway. “If I can’t handle you living here by that time, he’s going to take you somewhere else. I have no idea where that other place will be, but I’m betting it won’t be as nice as this place.”

“Any place will be nicer than _this_ place!” he shouted.

“Oh yeah? Well, I guess you won’t complain then if he drops you off on the Avengers’ doorstep.”

Loki sucked in a breath. Visions of the Hulk suddenly flashed through his mind and he visibly shuddered, almost losing his hold on the clothes basket.

“I’m going to take these to my room,” he softly said, his tone changing drastically. Jane looked at him, a bit puzzled.


	5. Weaving a Web

Loki squinted and pulled the covers over his head to block out the sudden burst of sunlight that filled his room. He heard the rattling of window blinds and footsteps.

“Get up!” said Jane.

“Mmmmphmmmmph,” Loki mumbled rolling over and burying his face in the pillow.

“Up.” Jane smacked his leg and snatched the covers off him. He scrambled, trying to grab the top sheet and pull it back over him. “Come on, get up, lazy.”

“What do you want?” he angrily snapped, lifting his head to look at her.

“You’ve slept late and I have a short trip to take this afternoon. Darcy will be here in a little while to look after you until I get back tonight.”

Loki sighed and covered his head again.

“I can always bring a bucket of cold water in here.”

“I’M UP!” he shouted.

“Good.” Jane walked across the hall to the bathroom and began brushing her teeth. “Your lunch is waiting in the kitchen. Also, I thought you cleaned your room yesterday. Doesn’t look like it to me.” She glanced at the books and clothes lying on the floor. “I expect it to be clean when I get home this evening.”

Loki tossed a pillow across the room out of annoyance, but it fell to the floor with a ‘flump’ between the foot of the bed and the doorway, rather than hitting Jane like he intended. He stuck his tongue out at her and rolled back over.

“Loki,” Jane called. He shot up and stared at her. “Up, now. I need you up when I leave.”

“I’m up!” he repeated irritably.

“You’re still in bed,” she pointed out. “Up means you’re standing and getting your clothes on.”

Loki grumbled and kicked the covers off and got out of bed. He walked over and slammed the door.

When he was finally dressed, Loki shuffled into the kitchen where Jane was busy stuffing notebooks and small scientific equipment in a duffle bag. He yawned and ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up and out.

“Where are you going?” he asked, seating himself in a chair. Jane pushed his lunch toward him.

“I’m going on a trip just outside of the city. Something’s come up that deals with my line of work. I won’t be gone long. I should be back home around six o’clock tonight, at the latest. Darcy will be here to keep a watch on you until then. I’ve given her permission to take you out of the apartment if you wish to go out and get some fresh air. She can take you to the park or somewhere. And I expect you to behave yourself and not give her a hard time.”

Loki smiled innocently at her.

“Yeah, you can look innocent all you want to. That babyface of yours is not going to convince me of anything. It might get you what you want on Asgard, but it’s not going to work here.”

Loki’s smile dropped. Then a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Are you sure you’re not meeting up with Thor?” he said playfully.

“Sadly, no, I’m not,” Jane replied, zipping her bag and throwing it over her shoulder. “I wish I was. It’d be nice to see him right now, especially after what I’ve had to put up with when it comes to you.”

“I doubt that he feels the same way. I’m pretty sure he’s spending time with his other girlfriend right now.”

Jane stopped before she got out of the kitchen. She turned. “What did you just say?”

“His other girlfriend,” Loki said. “He never told you about her?”

“No, he didn’t.” She walked over and stopped beside Loki, interested in hearing more. “He said that he missed me and loved me the night he dropped you off.”

“He probably doesn’t know how to tell you yet.”

Jane’s heart fell. Thor loved her, didn’t he? “Wha-what’s this other woman’s name?”

“Sif.” Loki turned to face her. He saw the hurt and confusion in her eyes. 

“Bu-but…I don’t understand. Why didn’t he say anything about it the other night?”

Loki shrugged. “Probably because he had other things on his mind, like…dropping me off here,” he said distastefully. “But Sif was there before Thor brought me here. He even kissed her before we left the throne room.”

“On the lips?” Jane gasped.

Loki nodded. “But then again, that isn’t new for Thor. He’s had many other women in the past. Once he gets tired of one, he moves on to the next. Never stays with the same one for very long. Like I said, I don’t know what he sees in you. He has so many others to choose from.”

Jane’s eyes started misting over.

“I’m sorry, Jane, I didn’t know he hadn’t told you. I shouldn’t have said anything.” He got up and attempted to comfort her, but she pushed him away.

“No, that’s fine,” she said flatly. “When I see him again, we’re going to have a serious discussion.”

“Jane?” Darcy called from the front door.

“Darcy’s here. I need to go.” Jane turned and left. Loki’s lips curled into a devilish smile.

“You ready?” Darcy asked with a smile when Jane stepped into the living room. She solemnly nodded in reply. “Hey, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of him.”

“Thanks. I left some money on top of the fridge in case you want to get ice cream or something.”

“Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing. I’ve gotta go. See you tonight,” said Jane, pushing past her friend.

Darcy shrugged and walked to the kitchen. Loki was just finishing up his lunch when she entered. She put her purse on the table and plopped herself down in one of the chairs.

“Soooo, what do you want to do today, besides sitting around being grumpy?”

Loki frowned at that. “Very funny.”

She smiled, studying his face closely until the moment got awkward. She cleared her throat. “Why don’t we just go out and see what appeals to us?”

Loki gave a nod, getting up. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to spending the day with this chatty mortal, but if it meant him getting out of the apartment he was willing to go along. Darcy grabbed the money Jane left on the fridge and led Loki out of the apartment and down to the lobby.

“Now, listen. I don’t want any trouble from you.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I wouldn’t think of it.” He smiled.

“Yeah, you’d better not.” They walked outside and started on their way.

“By the way,” Darcy said after a long silence between them. “Do you happen to know what was wrong with Jane? She acted preoccupied when she left.”

“I guess she was just upset.”

“About what?”

“About Thor having another girlfriend.”

“What?”

“Yeah, Sif,” he said. “I didn’t know Thor hadn’t told her yet. I guess it’s because he’s been busy.”

Darcy gave Loki a weird look. “Well, duh, because of you.”

“It wasn’t my fault!” he snapped. “The Chitauri brainwashed me and forced me to do it.”

“Uh-huh.”

“It’s true!” Loki huffed. “For once I’m telling the truth.”

“So you wanting to rule earth was also part of them brain-washing you?—as well as forcing a bunch of people in Germany to bow down to you?”

Loki gave a slight shrug. “Well, no. That was…me. But the rest of it wasn’t my fault! I never meant for anyone to get killed! You have to believe me.”

“Okay, okay, I believe you.”

“They’re evil. They kept me locked up and tortured me. But I’m free of them now.”

“They tortured you?”

Loki lowered his head. “I have nightmares about it sometimes.”

“That’s awful.” Darcy put her arm around Loki. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. If the whole thing wasn’t really your fault, then why haven’t you told Odin and Thor? Maybe they will put an end to your banishment early and take you back to Asgard.”

“I’ve tried! They never listen to anything I say.” Loki lowered his head again. “Father was too angry with me to even listen to my pleas.”

“Well, maybe if you didn’t lie so much people would start listening to you and actually believe what you say.”

Loki shot Darcy an annoyed stare. “I’m telling the truth right now.”

“And I said I believe you, what more do you want?”

Loki studied the girl beside him and then smiled. Maybe this chatty human wasn’t so bad after all, he thought. “You’re a nice person…for a human.”

“Thank you.” Darcy smiled.

“It’s a pity that Jane thinks you’re incompetent. I, for one, don’t.”

“Wait, what?”

“Just a little while ago, Jane was saying something about not wanting to leave me in your care this afternoon because you were too incompetent. She was afraid something might go wrong, I think.”

“She actually said that?” Darcy couldn’t believe her ears.

“I just overheard her mumbling to herself. But don’t tell her I mentioned anything about it.”

“Don’t tell her?” Darcy stared at Loki, not sure what to think. “I’m going to say a few things to her when she gets home tonight.”

Loki suppressed a smile.

“Where are we going?” he suddenly asked when Darcy sped up her pace and walked a few steps ahead.

“I feel like ice cream,” she snapped. She grabbed onto Loki, shoving him forward so she could keep her eyes on him.


	6. Father Odin Comes Calling

Jane entered her apartment and shut the door. The place was quiet and dark. She reached to turn on a light, looking around. There was no one there. It was after six. Darcy and Loki should have been back by now, she thought.

“Darcy?” she called. “Loki?”

No one answered. She shrugged and walked to her bedroom, throwing her duffle bag on the floor. She pulled her shoes off and threw on some comfortable clothes and her robe and walked out into the hall. She stopped in front of Loki’s room. The door was standing wide open, so she peeked in. She flipped on the ceiling light and looked around. She knew better than to pry, but something tugged at her to enter the room. She couldn’t explain why. Just a feeling she had.

The room still looked as if a tornado had touched down right in the middle. Loki still hadn’t cleaned it. If anything, it looked worse than it had that morning. Apparently, he still expected a servant to do it. Clothes, books, shoes, a comb, and other items littered the floor from the door to every wall. The bed sheets sloppily hung off the bed. Loki’s horned helmet sat in the corner. His green cape was crumpled on the floor, half under the bed. Parts of his armor were scattered across the floor in front of the closet door, looking as if he had dismantled the whole thing in a hurry. It was then that she briefly wondered why he had felt a need to take the cape off it. Mad at the current situation, perhaps? Better that he take out his anger on his own things instead of her furniture, she thought.

Jane shook her head at the sight and grumbled, “That little imp; I thought he was going to clean this up.”

Jane’s eyes again landed on the horned helmet in the corner. Something about it intrigued her. In all of her hours of doing research, she had never seen a helmet quite like it. She had to get a closer look at it while she had this opportunity. Stepping over books and clothing mounds, she made her way through the obstacle course and hunched down next to the golden wonder. Carefully, she stretched out her hand and ran it over one of the curved horns, closing her palm around it. She traced a finger over the cutwork and grooves, following it around to the back tip of the helmet.

When she straightened up again and took a step back next to the window, something glittery under the cape caught her attention. She bent down and brushed the cape aside and picked up…one of her gold necklaces—a birthday gift from her ex-boyfriend. How did that get in here? She stared at it for a few minutes, pondering it. Her thoughts were interrupted by a sound in another area of the apartment. Thinking it was Darcy and Loki returning, she quickly took one last look around the room and made her way to the door and out into the hall, turning the light off as she went. 

“Darcy?—Loki?” She looked around the living room. No one was there. That was weird. She could have sworn she heard something. Shrugging, she walked to the kitchen, staring at the necklace again.

“Loki,” she said aloud to herself, “you have got some serious explaining to do when you get home.”

“Indeed, he does,” a man’s voice said. Jane let out a shriek and she spun around, grasping the edge of the sink for support. Her wide eyes landed on the All-Father seated in one of the kitchen chairs. She hadn’t noticed him sitting there when she walked in.

“Sorry to startle you, Jane Foster.”

“Odin?”

“Yes, it is I.” He smiled, taking in Jane’s appearance in one glance. “I can see why he likes you. You’re a beautiful woman, for a mortal.”

Jane blushed. “Thank you.”

“Not that I completely approve of my son falling for a mortal.”

“Wha-what are you doing here?” Jane slipped into the chair across from the All-Father, putting her necklace on the table between them. Odin’s good eye looked down at the gold string of metal then looked back at Jane.

“There’s only one possible reason why I would be here.”

“Loki,” Jane breathed out. Odin nodded.

“I’m here to give you some advice concerning him.” His face turned grim.

“I’m doing the best I can.” She sighed. “It’s hard.”

“I know,” he said sympathetically. “You’ve been doing a fine job, of which I am very proud of. Believe me, not just anyone can put up with Loki, or handle him for that matter. You have been doing a really great job, though. But I think you need a little bit of help. That’s why I’m here. When Thor left with Loki, I told Heimdall to keep an eye on things and report back to me any ill intentions Loki might plan.”

“You’ve been watching us all this time?”

Odin nodded. “I regret to inform you that you’re walking into one of Loki’s plans as we speak.”

“What?” Jane’s voice grew dark.

“It seems that he’s trying to get out of this apartment so he can hunt down the Chitauri scepter he lost in New York. And he’s also trying to turn you against Thor so he can get revenge on him.”

Jane’s eyes widened. “In what way is he turning me against Thor?”

Odin raised an eyebrow. “You mean to say you don’t know? He’s been telling you lies, Jane. You’re the only woman Thor loves.”

“I am?” The words came out sounding squeakier than she had meant them to. But she was just so relieved to hear that Thor having another girlfriend wasn’t true. She visibly deflated.

Odin gave a nod. “All that Loki told you concerning Thor having another girlfriend is not true. It’s just another venomous lie he’s spewed out to mess with your mind. Thor misses you. He’s waiting for the three months to be over just so he can come back here and be with you.”

“And I believed him.” Jane shook her head. “I can’t believe I was so stupid. I should have known better. I spent all day thinking about what he told me and crying and just…”

“It isn’t your fault, so don’t blame yourself.” Odin smiled. “Loki can manipulate anyone if he sets his mind to it.”

Jane heaved a big sigh to clear her mind.

“There’s more,” Odin continued. “You are not the only one Loki has been working at. This afternoon, Loki tricked your friend and got away from her.”

“He what??” Jane rose from her seat. Odin calmly motioned for her to sit down again.

“Don’t worry. He will be returned here after we get through talking. I’ll see to it that he doesn’t get far.”

“That little imp,” Jane fumed, her face turning red. She looked down at her necklace. “I suppose he’s a little thief too? Or is there some other reason why my necklace was in his room?”

“He plans to hide it and blame Thor for stealing it when he comes here in three months.”

Jane slammed the palm of her hand down on the table in anger.

“Jane,” Odin said calmly, “I’m willing to grant you a couple of gifts that will help you in dealing with Loki because I know you will not be able to handle him on your own for three months. He may be mortal, but his mind and tongue are still dangerous. If you wish to have the gifts, just say the word.”

Jane took a few moments to cool down, finally nodding. “Yeah, sure, I’ll take anything if it means helping me keep the little brat in line. Right now I-I’ll admit that I don’t feel like I have control over the situation.”

Odin couldn’t help but smile at Jane’s choice of words. “It’s true. You don’t. And Loki knows it, too. That’s why he’s working out his plans. He knows he can do anything he wants and get away with it because you hold no power over him other than bluffs and idle threats.”

“So what are these gifts you mentioned?”

Odin reached out and touched her forehead. “I grant you strength and wisdom for as long as Loki is in your care. Be sure to use both wisely.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.” Odin smiled.

Jane nodded. “Thank you.”

“Remember, Jane Foster, that Loki is the master of lies. You cannot believe the venom he spews out. He will try to distort and twist your thinking if it means that he can get what he wants. He enjoys using people like you as pawns in his silly games.”

Jane nodded. “Um…Do you have any suggestions for what I can do to rein Loki in?—get him under control? I mean, I know you just gave me wisdom, but I need some advice from someone. I’m at a loss.”

Odin thought a moment and smiled. “Part of the wisdom I just gave you is motherly wisdom. Keep in mind that Loki acts like a child who is hungry for attention. He throws tantrums if he can’t get what he wants.”

Jane gave a nod of agreement. “I can believe that. He acts like a spoiled brat.”

An odd smirk creased the All-Father’s lips. He held up a finger, a twinkle appearing in his eye. “And there are ways of dealing with spoiled brats, Jane Foster. Am I not correct?”

Jane studied the man’s face a few minutes before she slowly nodded her head in understanding, an amused smile forming on her lips.

“Y-you really want me to…” She laughed, her cheeks flushing. “That’s…going to be awkward.”

Odin held up a hand. “Use your gift of wisdom to discern what Loki really needs. Whatever method you choose, you have my permission to go through with it.”

“Thank you, again,” Jane said.

“I am only sorry that you had to be dragged into all of this.” Odin sighed wearily. “I know I’m partly to blame for Loki’s behavior. I sometimes feel like I haven’t been the best father.”

“It’s not too late to set things right.”

“I think it is. Loki is too set in his ways now. He hates me, Jane.”

“Maybe if you spent more time with him and actually made an effort to show him you love and care for him, things would be different. When was the last time you told him that you loved him, despite whatever he’s done?”

Odin remained silent a few minutes, refusing to answer her question when he spoke again. “The problem with Loki is that he wants too much attention. Even if I did spend more time with him, he’d never be satisfied.”

“But that’s no reason to give up on him.”

“It’s complicated, Jane. That’s all it is.” Odin pushed himself out of the chair and stood, giving Jane the hint that the conversation was at a close. “Be sure to use your wisdom.”

The All-Father walked to the living room, and that was the last Jane saw of him. She wasn’t sure how he disappeared. He was the All-Father, so apparently he had his ways. She sat on the couch, her mind thinking over everything the two of them had talked about. She also fumed over everything Loki had done—the lies he told, the deception, his blatant disobedience, him trying to manipulate both her and Darcy, the plans he was trying to carry out behind her back.

She sighed to herself, reaching for her laptop.


	7. Caught

Loki stumbled through the door, somewhat surprised to see Jane sitting on the couch in the dark with only the light of her laptop illuminating her features. He squinted at her form, before turning to shut the door.

“What happened to the lights?” he asked.

“Nothing; I just felt like sitting in the dark,” Jane replied. He noticed that she quickly closed out an Internet window before he could see what it was. Although, he thought he caught a glimpse of something having to do with child discipline. “Where’s Darcy?”

“Uh…she’s here. She rode with me in the elevator and dropped me off. Since it’s so late, she went on up to her apartment.”

“Oh.” Jane reached over and turned on the lamp beside her. Loki blinked, putting his hands behind his back and backing up toward the hallway. She knew he was lying. She could see right through it. She wasn’t sure how, but she guessed it had something to do with the gifts Odin bestowed upon her. Besides, she knew her friend. Darcy would have brought Loki directly to the apartment and made sure that Jane was there before she left.

Her accusations were proven accurate almost immediately. It wasn’t more than a minute before a scrambling was heard at the door and Darcy suddenly burst in. She stood there, shocked when her eyes landed on Loki standing in front of her. Jane almost smiled at the bewildered expression on Loki’s face.

“Where have you been?” she shouted, slamming the door. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“What do you mean, where have I been?” Loki shouted back at Darcy. Jane could tell he was getting nervous because the lies he’d been spinning all day were coming unraveled. And yet, here he was telling more of them. “I got lost! I was looking everywhere for you! When I got tired of looking, I came back here.”

“Oh, you got lost and couldn’t find me, but you could find your way here, huh?”

“Well, I…”

“Jane, I’m sorry.” Darcy turned to her friend. “It wasn’t my fault. I turned my head for a few seconds and the next thing I know, he’s gone.”

“It’s okay, Darcy. I believe you. However, I’m very interested in hearing the whole story,” said Jane calmly, getting up off the couch and glaring in Loki’s direction. He swallowed.

“I’ll just go and let you two talk, then.” He turned to leave.

“No, Loki, I think you need to stay.” Something about the tone of Jane’s voice made him come back. “Darcy, would you please tell me what happened?”

“Okay,” Darcy took a deep breath, “We stopped to get ice cream first thing because I was angry and needed something to calm me down. Then we went to the park. We stayed there for about an hour and then decided to catch a movie. Of which he spent half the time complaining about his seat.” She rolled her eyes.

“It was too hard,” Loki explained. “And it hurt my back.”

“After the movie, he tells me he wants to go down by the river and see the boats. So we go to the river. I turn my head for, like, two seconds and next thing I know he’s vanished into the crowd. I have no idea how he managed to do it, but he did. I spent all afternoon looking for this man.” Darcy turned to Loki. “Where did you go, anyway?”

Jane’s eyes turned on Loki, waiting for an answer.

“I…uh…I just...” Loki nervously looked at Jane. Something about her seemed different, but he couldn’t understand what. “I…can’t say.”

“You can’t say or won’t say?” said Jane. “It doesn’t matter where you went. If you did tell us, I’m pretty sure it would be another lie. The fact is you disobeyed and lied on top of it.”

“I came back here!” he shouted. He blinked in confusion. “I don’t know how or why, but I did…”

Jane continued with the scolding, “You tricked Darcy into going to the river and then you went off on your own. I distinctly told you that you were not to go out alone and that you weren’t to give Darcy any trouble.”

Loki backed up against the wall, suddenly feeling very small and vulnerable. “I’m sorry,” he weakly said.

“You’d better be.” Jane walked toward him. “I hope that whatever you went off to do was very important because you are now in very big trouble.”

He cowered. And he hated himself for it. He wanted to be mad at this woman for speaking to him in such a way. He wanted to lash back to defend himself, maybe even use his silver tongue to get out of this mess, but something inside of him turned and ran the moment he heard her voice rise. What had happened to her that afternoon?

“Loki, I want you to go to your room and stay there. I’ll be in shortly to have another talk.”

“You can’t make me.”

“What did you just say?”

“You can’t make me!” he again said.

“Go…to…your…room…this instant.” Jane’s voice was developing a dangerous edge. Even Darcy began to feel uncomfortable.

“I’m not a child!” Loki shouted.

“I’ll believe that when you stop acting like one. Now, get to your room. I’m not going to tell you again.”

Loki nervously looked from Jane to Darcy and back again. He didn’t want to admit that he had just lost the argument that he was so sure he had control of. He was mad at himself at how easily he lost, too. Saying nothing more, he turned and disappeared into his bedroom, slamming the door.

“Jane, I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Jane put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I should have known better than to leave him in your hands since he’s such a huge responsibility.”

“You had no choice.”

Jane nodded.

“By the way, while we’re on the subject, what’s this about you thinking I’m incompetent?”

Jane blinked and looked at Darcy in a puzzled way. “What are you talking about?”

“Loki told me this afternoon that you didn’t want me looking after him because you thought I was too incompetent.” She threw her hands up in a gesture of giving up. “You know, maybe you’re right. I lost him after all. Maybe I _am_ incompetent.”

“Darcy, hold up. Loki told you that?”

“Yes, when we left the apartment.”

“Darcy, he was lying to you.”

“What?”

“He was lying to you. I never said you were incompetent. You losing him wasn’t your fault. He’s just…”

“A trickster,” Darcy finished. She shook her head. “I can’t believe I fell for it. And here I warned _you_ to be careful of him. I’m sorry, Jane, I didn’t mean to get mad at you. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen!”

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Just forget it.” Jane walked forward. “He tricked both of us. After my talk with him tonight, I’m hoping things will be different around here.”

“Whelp, good luck with that.” Darcy turned. “I think I’m gonna head out. Let me know how it goes.”

When Darcy disappeared out the door, Jane sighed. She wasn’t looking forward to this part of her day. But she was glad that she had had time enough to think things over first. 

She bent over and fumbled through papers, notebooks, and other stuff lying on the coffee table until she found what she was looking for. She picked up a flexible, rubbery plastic ruler. She bent it to test it for durability, slapping the palm of her hand with it once.

“Ow!” she yelped at the sharp sting, flapping her hand. She nodded in satisfaction. She couldn’t believe what she was about to do, but she had no other choice. Loki was out of control. Okay, she admitted, he had never been under control to begin with. That part had been an illusion from the moment Thor dropped him off. If both of them were going to live there for three months, she was going to have to put some sort of rein on him, or go mad. Now that she wielded the gifts Odin gave her, she felt more confident than she had before. If Loki was determined to act like a childish spoiled brat, then she would treat him like one. After everything he had done up until that moment, he was well overdo for a good paddling. When she used to read the Norse myths as a child, she never would have guessed that one day she would be whaling the blazes out of the God of Mischief’s backside. She had never spanked anyone in her life…well…except for her toys when she was a little girl playing house. But that was different. Toys weren’t real. There was a knot in her stomach. Wonder if she did it wrong?

She hesitated a few minutes outside of Loki’s bedroom door, quickly hiding the ruler up the sleeve of her robe. She knocked on the door.

“Loki, open up.”

Slowly the door opened and Loki peeked out. He had changed into his silky pajamas and looked like he was ready for bed.

“May I come in?” Jane asked. She hid the arm that held the ruler behind her.

“Sure,” he softly said, opening the door wider. She walked in. Since they were alone, it didn’t matter if the door was open or closed. However, Loki left it open.

The air was silent for some time, Loki nervously moving his hands and playing with the sleeves of his night shirt.

“Loki,” Jane suddenly said, breaking the silence, “how old are you in human years? Do you know?”

Loki blinked at the odd question. “Uh…I think about sixteen or seventeen, give or take. Why?”

“Just wondering.” That explains a lot, she thought. She waved toward the bed. “Sit down, Loki.”

“I-I’d rather stand if that’s okay.” He moved around by the window.

“Loki,” Jane said in a firmer tone. “I said sit.”

“If I want to stand, I’ll stand,” Loki said irritably. “We can have our talk just as well with me standing here.”

Jane walked over, grabbed onto his arm, and pulled him to the bed without a word. Loki was shocked and momentarily dumbfounded at how strong she was. He would have never thought it of her. For her being such a little person, she had the strength of Thor. It didn’t make sense! He fought against it, but it was no use. She might as well have been Asgardian.

“I told you to sit, and I expect you to obey,” she said. “You can’t even obey a simple request like that?”

Loki eyed her in surprise, not liking where this was headed. He watched as she pulled the ruler out of her sleeve and held it in her hand. His eyes widened as he stared at the implement a few minutes, finally forcing his eyes to look up at Jane.

“Wh-what’s that for?”

“Judging from your reaction, I think you already know. Or have you ever been spanked? My guess is that you haven’t.”

Loki swallowed hard, his hands involuntarily inching underneath him. His eyes dropped down to the ruler again. It looked like it would be painful.

Jane continued to note his reaction. “So, you know what spanking is?”

“Yes,” he answered softly. “And I can't believe you're serious about this. Y-you wouldn’t dare…You can’t. You aren’t my mother. You have no right.”

“I’m not your mother, but I _am_ in charge of you right now, so that gives me more than enough right to do it.” She decided not to add that Odin had practically hinted at it.

Loki licked his lips nervously.

Without another word, Jane walked over and grabbed onto Loki’s arm again, moved him over, and sat down on the bed beside him. She then began moving him in place over her knees.

“Nononononono!” said Loki, scrabbling and kicking wildly. Jane lifted her ruler and brought it down sharply and swiftly on his backside five times.

“OW!!” he shouted, throwing a hand back to rub out the sting she’d put there.

“Be still!” she sternly commanded. Loki fell still and silent save for slight whimpers. He had been right. It was painful! Just five slaps stung like the dickens! The thought of more being applied scared him. He looked over his shoulder, his eyes darting between Jane and the ruler.

“Please, don’t do this to me. Please don’t,” he sniveled. “What did I ever do to deserve it?”

“What did you do? You mean to tell me you don’t know?”

Loki hesitated and then shook his head.

“You disobeyed.”

“I said I was sorry!”

“Do you think you’re going to get off that easy? I’d accept your apology if I thought you meant it.”

“Bu-but I _do_ mean it! I—ouch!”

Jane brought the ruler down with a hard slap across Loki’s backside. “You’re lying, Loki. You’re just saying it so you can get out of this. I know all about your silver tongue.”

“N-no I’m n—” Loki swallowed.

“You’ve also been telling me lies about Thor and plotting behind my back. You think that isn’t deserving of punishment?”

Loki looked stunned. “How…how did you…”

“How did I find out? I guess I might as well tell you that Odin stopped by here earlier and told me a few things. He’s had Heimdall keeping an eye on us ever since Thor brought you here. Odin told me everything. How you lied to me about Thor’s other girlfriend in order to make me mad at him. How you’ve been trying to get out of here so you can find the scepter. He even told me that you purposely tricked and got away from Darcy this afternoon. Yes, I already knew about that before you even arrived here.”

Loki’s mouth dropped open. He wasn’t sure whether to be terrified, angry, or what. How dare Odin keep an eye on him! And this also explained why Jane was so strong all of a sudden. Odin must have blessed her with some of his gifts, he thought. Loki suddenly felt ill at his stomach. More or less because he now knew that he would never be able to gain any sort of control over Jane. She was no longer a mere weak mortal like she had been before. Any attempts at gaining control over her from now on would probably result in him being upended over her lap as he was at that moment. He shuddered.

“He also told me about your plans for this.” Jane tugged on the gold necklace around her neck. Loki’s eyes widened when he saw it. “How you planned to hide it and blame Thor for stealing it. And I’m not even going to list off all the times you’ve acted like a brat since you’ve been here, back-talking me, and the time you tricked me into taking you downstairs. And what about this room? It’s still a mess after I told you several times to clean it up. So do you still think you don’t deserve this punishment?”

“I’m sorry,” was Loki’s only reply.

“Yeeeah, you aren’t sorry yet. By the time I’m through with you tonight, you’re going to have a very sore and hot butt, mister. And despite what you think, it’s well deserved, I can tell you that. You act like a spoiled brat; you’re going to be treated like a spoiled brat. From this moment on, for as long as you stay here if you so much as get out of line, I’m going to put you back in your place with this ruler.”

“Noooooooooo…” Loki wailed as Jane moved him around to better prepare him for what was to come. She pushed him onto her left knee, his upper half resting on the bed, and trapped his legs between her own. She moved his arms under him and pinned them there. Even though she had the strength Odin gave her, she was still thankful Loki had a small and slender build. It made him so much easier to handle in this situation.

Loki tried to move, more or less testing Jane’s hold on him, but he found he couldn’t budge an inch. A sickening knot formed in his stomach when the reality of the situation finally sunk in.

“You don’t have to do this! I’m really and truly sorry!”

Jane shook her head and lifted the ruler, bringing it down sharply across the middle of his backside. Loki sucked in his breath. Of all the things she could have chosen, why did she choose that accursed ruler?? Unfortunately, since he was wearing his pajamas, his pants were thin and offered little to no protection from the stinging blows. It didn’t help that Jane pulled them tight so that the curve of his rear was clearly visible through the cloth.

Jane repeated the action and kept on repeating it as fast as she could until she fell into a steady rhythm, the ruler being nothing but a whizzing blur. She made a mental note to keep herself in check, however. Loki was mortal now. As much as she disliked him, she didn’t want to hurt him in any way that was permanent. She would never do that to anyone, Loki or otherwise. This was a punishment, so she set out to make sure that it was memorable for the next several days.

Loki screamed and cried and wriggled about in her hold, but the agonizing sting of the ruler landed on every inch of his rear, eventually building up a lingering, burning pain.

“Yaaah!” he shrilly cried out when the ruler’s stings landed on the underside of his bottom. “Yowch! Jane, please! Not there!”

But Jane didn’t pay any attention to his words. She brought the ruler down several more times on the underside of his butt, eliciting more shrilly, watery cries from the trickster.

The spanking lasted at least two minutes before Jane stopped. Loki’s body convulsed in hitched sobs. She couldn't help but marvel over how fast the trickster had been reduced to a sniveling mess.

“Please, no more,” Loki sobbed loudly, sniffling. “Please. I can’t take anymore.”

“You still have some more to go,” Jane calmly said. “Believe me, you can take it.”

“Nooooooooo! No!” Loki choked out through his tears. “No more! I-I-I’m too cute to spank!” He couldn’t believe he had said it after the words left his mouth, but he decided to run with it. He looked over his shoulder, giving Jane the saddest, cutest puppy face he could muster to make her feel sorry for him, adding a bit of wibble to his lower lip. It had always worked on Frigga. Jane resisted it, shaking her head at the sad display, and Loki was even more terrified.

“Are you truly sorry for what you’ve done?”

Loki choked on his tears again. “I didn’t do anything to deserve punishment like this!”

Jane didn’t say a word as she grabbed hold of the waistband of Loki’s pants and pulled them down to just below his bottom, revealing an already well heated and reddened rear.

“What are you doing?!?” he squeaked out.

“What does it look like?”

Loki blushed furiously, his ears burning. “NO! Not bare bottom! Please, no!” He thrashed about harder, managing to get one of his arms loose. He quickly flung it back to cover his rear, snatching his pants and inching them up. Jane took hold of his hand and moved it out of the way, to the small of his back and held it there. Then she pulled his pants back down.

“No, no…” Loki turned to hide his face in the sheets. “Please, don’t. This is wrong. So very wrong.”

The ruler came down sharply with a smack.

“YEOW!” Loki yelled, lurching forward and hissing through his teeth. Why had she chosen his underside for the first swat?? Another one landed on top of it—and then another and another in the same spot, slowly moving up to his cheeks. The sting of each swat took a bite out of him, a particularly painful one making him arch his back.

“Please, STOP!” Loki cried out before breaking out into more sobs. He attempted to kick his legs, but the firm hold Jane had on them would not allow it.

“Then tell me why you’re receiving this spanking,” said Jane firmly, bringing the ruler down again.

Loki choked and sobbed through hitched breathing. “Be-because…I…I…” He swallowed.

“You still don’t know even after I listed everything off?”

“Because I was…bad?” he said meekly, blubbering.

“In what way were you bad?”

The ruler came down hard again, and Loki cried out in agony. His mouth worked for a few minutes as he fought to get the words out, but the pain in his backside was making it awfully hard to concentrate on anything else. Jane sighed. She raised her ruler and brought it down swiftly with a loud smack again, this time on his right cheek. He chanced a look behind him and saw she was about to land the ruler on his left cheek. He squeaked in horror, finally facing the fact that he would have to give in or the spanking would never stop.

“OKAY!” he sobbed, trying in vain to move his rear out of the way of the ruler. “I-I-I lied to you.”

“Good. What else?”

The ruler came down on his left cheek with a slap, despite his efforts to get away from it. Jane added a couple more quick slaps to the underside for him attempting to evade the blow.

Loki whimpered, holding his bottom still. “I-I plotted behind your back. I dis-sss-disobeyed. An-and tricked Darcy. And wa-was going to blame Thor for the necklace.”

Three more slaps landed on his smarting and burning posterior.

“And I acted like a brat!” he choked out.

Jane nodded. “Good, I think we can finish this up, now.” She tightened her grip around his waist and brought the ruler down in a series of hard, quick swats, the number being lost as she let into his backside. Loki cried and hollered until his voice sounded hoarse. Halfway through, Jane threw the ruler aside and used her hand, bringing it down in quick, even slaps on both of his already stinging cheeks, eventually moving to the underside. The impact of her palm made the pain that was already there more intense, not to mention the new pain that was being laid on top of it.

“OWWWW!!” Loki wailed, trying to buck his legs. “I’M SORRY!!” And he was telling the truth. He really was sorry. He had actually felt bad about what he did to Darcy even before Jane spanked him. “I regret doing all of it! I won’t ever do it again, I promise! Jussttt-sss-stop spanking me, please!”

Jane stopped. Loki lay limply across her knee, shuddering and crying his heart out. She could feel the heat radiating off the brightly red bottom on her knee and felt that she had done the job quite well for it being her first time. She patted Loki’s back and gently pulled his pants up.

“Very good,” she said in a soft voice. “I think you’ve learned a valuable lesson tonight.” She moved her leg and helped him to shakily stand. He refused to look at her, turning his head instead to look at the lamp on the night table. Carefully, he reached behind him and vigorously rubbed his scorched bottom. It felt hot through his pajamas. The trickster’s face was about as red as his bottom was, strands of dark hair plastered across it. His nose was running and tears continued to pour out of his puffy eyes. All of that coupled with his already youthful facial features made him look like the equivalent of a well-spanked child.

Jane confessed that the sight touched her heart, but she wasn’t about to give in just yet. She got up and pulled some tissue out of the box on the night table and began wiping Loki’s face. He allowed her to wipe at his nose, but when she moved to wipe his eyes he pushed her hand aside and turned away.

“I want you to get in bed and go to sleep,” she said, pointing at the bed. Loki quickly did as she said, fearing that she’d start spanking him with that horrible ruler again if he didn’t. He pulled the covers up to his wet face and moved into a position that was comfortable and peered up at Jane with watery sad eyes. She stood over him, hands on her hips. One hand now held the ruler again, of which he nervously eyed. He waited expectantly for her to hug him, but she never did. Finally, she turned out the light and exited the room, closing the door behind her.

Where were the hug and cuddles? Frigga always gave him hugs and cuddles after she spanked him as a child. He picked up a corner of his cape and held it to his face, nuzzling it. He put one of his thumbs in his mouth and peered through the darkness at the door. A fresh flow of tears gushed out of his eyes when he saw Jane wasn’t coming back. It figures, he thought. No one loved Loki.


	8. In Need of Love

Shortly after Jane came out of Loki’s room, there was a knock at the door. She got up to answer it.

“Darcy?”

“Sorry to bother you, but I forgot to give you back what was left of the money you gave me this morning.”

“Oh, that’s okay. It could have waited until tomorrow,” said Jane.

“Something wrong?”

“Come in.” Jane motioned with her head. Darcy stepped inside.

“Is he giving you trouble again?”

“Well…” Jane fought to hold down the smile that wanted to form on her lips as she walked to the couch. “I…spanked him after you left.”

“You spanked him??” Darcy threw her hand in front of her mouth when she realized she had said it a little too loudly and shrilly. She lowered her voice. “Are you crazy? You spanked Loki???”

“Yes, I did.”

“With your hand?”

“Partly; I also used a ruler…” She pointed at the implement on the coffee table.

Darcy’s eyes widened more, and she glanced down the hall. She pointed to Loki’s room and mouthed something to Jane. Jane nodded.

“And I’m not ashamed to say that it felt good to do,” Jane whispered. “He so deserved it.”

“Bare butt?”

Jane studied Darcy curiously. “Yes, some of it was. Why?”

“Ouch. Nothing.” Darcy cleared her throat. Her lips tightened in a straight line to hide the smile that wanted to appear. “Jane, don’t ever joke about me tasing Thor again. You’ve just given me something better I can throw back at you.”

“Oh, hush.” Jane shook her head.

“But, he’s a grown man…god…alien…whatever.”

“ _That_ is no man.” Jane sighed, gesturing towards Loki’s room. “It’s a stubborn, hardheaded, bratty, toaster throwing, childish, spoiled, manipulating, devilish imp put here to make my life miserable. And I’ve got to babysit it.” Jane collapsed on the couch, sounding close to tears. “I had to do something to gain control again. He’s just…unbearable. You already know that from what he did to you this afternoon. Odin came by earlier to talk with me while you were gone, and he told me everything Loki has been doing. Like lying to me and manipulating me and plotting, not to mention the numerous times he’s disobeyed.”

“You…spanked his cute butt…” Darcy tried to hide the amused smile that wanted to crop up on her lips again. The comical thought was still trying to sink into her mind.

“His cute butt?”

Darcy cleared her throat. “I’m a woman. I’m allowed to look, aren’t I?”

Jane held up her hands, not wanting to comment on it further.

“He’s got a cute face too,” Darcy said somewhat dreamily. “It’s hard to believe he’s the God of Mischief, isn’t it?”

Jane turned another look to Darcy that said, ‘Seriously?’

“You think the devil is cute?” Jane said, scrunching her nose in disgust. “You clearly haven’t been around him as much as I have.”

“He’s not the devil. Jane, how could you say something like that?” Darcy frowned. “He’s just…a misunderstood boy who’s…”

“A liar, bratty, spoiled, full of himself…” Jane finished. “Needs a good spanking to put him in his place.”

“Okay, so he has a few flaws. Who doesn’t?” Darcy threw her hands up. “To be fair, Thor wasn’t a complete angel when you first met him.”

Jane had to agree with that.

“I might have just spent one afternoon with him, but I learned so many things within those few hours. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe he does some of the things he does because he wants attention? He’s like a little kid who wants to be noticed. He’s lonely, Jane.”

“Yeah, I know. Odin pointed that out to me.”

“There, you see?”

“Darcy, the other day you were warning me about him. Have you changed your mind that fast?”

“No. I’m not denying that he’s a troublemaker. I’m just pointing out the fact that he’s also a troubled soul that just needs to be loved for a change. He needs someone to show him that they care for him and he needs for someone to tell him that he’s important. I think he likes and respects you, if not for anything else but because you’re his brother’s girlfriend. He just doesn’t want to show it openly, so he does it in his own subtle, annoying ways.”

Jane turned to look at Darcy. “You really think so?”

“I know so. I mean, if he hated you and wanted to kill you, you probably would be a spot on the wall by now.” Darcy waved toward the nearest wall. “Like I said, I think he just needs to be loved. I mean, can you blame the poor guy? Odin kicked him out and sent him here to live with us. He probably thinks no one wants him just because he screwed up a few times.”

Jane studied her hands in her lap. She was beginning to feel guilty for walking off and leaving Loki alone right after spanking him.

“Ulp, look at the time. Got late night studying to do.” Darcy looked Jane over. “Are you still going to the store tomorrow?—Need me to babysit again?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you then,” Jane said, her thoughts elsewhere.

“Alrighty, I’m gonna head out, then.”

“Good night, Darcy.”

“Night, Jane.”

When Darcy left, Jane walked to Loki’s room and stood outside the door, listening. He sounded like he was still crying. She gave a light knock. “Loki, are you awake?”

“Go away!” Loki’s watery voice came to her. Jane turned the doorknob and walked into the room. It was dark inside, except for the dim light that came in through the window from the streetlight outside. Loki was lying on his stomach, his face buried in the pillow.

Jane closed the door behind her. “Loki?”

“Go away,” Loki again said, sniffling.

“Loki, I want to talk to you,” she said softly, moving toward the bed. She kicked a shirt out of the way.

“I don’t want to have any more talks with you,” he replied sulkily. Jane eased herself down on the side of his bed. The trickster jumped and looked at her as if he expected to see her holding the ruler in her hand. “Have you come to apologize?”

“Loki, I’m not sorry for what I did,” she said gently. “You had it coming. You can’t deny that.”

Through the streetlight-lit darkness she could make out Loki’s frowning face, the tear streaks glistening on his cheeks. He hiccupped and turned away from her, idly running a finger over the bed sheet and playing with the lumps and folds in the cloth.

“Do you want a hug?” She fought to get the words out. She half expected Loki to refuse and become irritated at the idea, but his reaction surprised her.

“A hug?” Loki turned to look at her. He sounded so much like a confused child. “Y-you want to hug… _me_?”

“Sure.” She smiled, patting the bed beside her. He blinked in surprise and eagerly moved closer to her, careful not to put weight on his sore backside. She reached out and wrapped her arms around his thin frame and gave him a big hug and a squeeze, playfully scratching his back and patting it. She expected it to be a brief hug with Loki quickly pulling away, but he didn’t. Instead, he laid his head on her shoulder and stayed in the position. Awkwardly, Jane continued to gently pat his back like she would do to comfort a child. Loki snuggled his face into Jane’s shirt and let out a small sigh and hiccupped again, wrapping his arms tighter around her like he was afraid that if he let go he’d fall. She wasn’t sure what to do. The last thing she wanted was to play mother to a bratty godling. But it looked like she had no choice.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” she whispered, rocking Loki in her arms. She wasn’t sure why she did it, but it felt like the right thing to do at the time. Loki snuggled even closer to her, and it was then that she wondered if the poor guy had ever been loved in his life. Or was he just an extra big baby who could never get enough attention no matter how much you gave him? Maybe Odin and Darcy had been right. Loki was like a child, and he seemed to soak up whatever attention was given to him, whether good or bad. You could probably threaten his life and he’d enjoy every moment of it, just because he was the center of the attention. “We’ve had a rough start, it’s true, but things are going to be different now, I think.”

“No more spankings,” Loki murmured.

“No, the spankings stay,” Jane replied. Loki grumbled. “If you don’t want one, then stay out of trouble and behave yourself. Otherwise, you’re going to get the ruler if you get out of line.”

Loki gave her shoulder a hard nudge of defiance with his nose and sighed. Jane shook her head and continued to rock the trickster in her arms, patting his back. She laid her cheek against his head and stared out the window. Somehow she had a feeling this wouldn’t be the only time she’d have to spank Loki. In a way, she hated that she had to result to doing that to him. She even felt slightly embarrassed over it all, especially the part of pulling his pants down like she had done. Her cheeks blushed a little as she thought back on it now. Had she gone a bit too far with that? Maybe not. At least she established who the boss was.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” she repeated.

Loki didn’t say anything. Jane looked down at him and smiled. She gently pulled the two of them apart, giving the back of his neck a squeeze. He let out a sleepy whine and tried to inch back into Jane’s arms.

“No, Loki,” she whispered, pushing his hands down. Did he seriously see her as being like his mother? “You need to rest now. Come on.”

“N-no,” he whined. Jane hoped she wouldn’t have to spank him again so soon. “The bad dreams will come.”

“Bad dreams?”

Loki nodded, wrapping his arms around Jane again. “I don’t have them every night, but sometimes I do.”

“They’re just dreams, Loki. When you wake up they’ll be gone,” Jane said. Loki buried his face in her shoulder. “Come on, you need to get in bed.”

Despite Loki’s protests, Jane urged him back into his bed and pulled the covers over him. He hissed when his bottom came in contact with the mattress and he rolled over on his stomach. Smiling, Jane tucked him in, brushing some stray strands of hair out of his face. She playfully ran a finger down his nose, causing him to scrunch it up and squeeze his eyes closed. He smiled and yawned.

Darcy was right. He _was_ cute. Though, Jane would never admit it aloud. She studied him in the semi-darkness, wondering how and why this…man…who was supposed to be the god of lies and deceit had such an adorable, innocent face. It didn’t seem right.

“Good night, Loki,” Jane whispered. Although Loki was already fast asleep. She reached out and ran her hand over his head, tucking his long hair curls behind his ear. She pulled the covers up around his chin and walked over to close the window blinds.

Giving the trickster one last look in the light that filtered over the bed through the opened door, she made her way out of the room.


	9. He Never Learns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the inspiration for the events in this chapter came from the Marx Brothers movie, A Night in Casablanca, where Groucho (Kornblow) suggests that they switch all of the numbers on the hotel rooms. It just seemed like something Loki would enjoy doing, so yeah…

When morning arrived, Jane watched as Loki shuffled into the kitchen and stopped next to the table. He was still in his pajamas, which was unusual. Normally he made an effort to get dressed before coming to the table each morning. He still looked like he had been through a wringer: his hair stuck up in every direction, his clothes wrinkled, and his eyes and face were still puffy and red from the events of the night before. She noticed also that his left hand was subtly rubbing at his rear. For a few minutes, he studied the chair in front of him before slowly looking over at Jane, a soured expression on his face.

Hiding a smile, Jane cleared her throat and walked to the living room. When she returned she placed a pillow on the seat of Loki’s chair. The trickster stared dangerously at her and then eased down on the seat, wincing as he did so.

“Ready for breakfast?”

Loki didn’t say anything. Instead, he just sat and stared at his hands splayed out on the table.

“Okay, we’re not talking today.” Jane set a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast in front of him. She put a plate of the same in front of her chair and sat down. Loki poked at a piece of bacon with his finger. “You can sulk all you want, but your little trick isn’t going to work on me.”

Loki balled his fist and slammed it down on the table hard enough to rattle the dishes. He glared at her, his nostrils flaring.

Jane held up a warning finger. “Ah, ah, we’re not going to have any of that today. You’re already sore enough as it is, I don’t think you want to try for more. But I’m not opposed to giving you more if that’s what you want.”

Loki nervously shifted in his chair and winced, angrily grabbing a fork and stabbing at the eggs on his plate. He hated not being in control. Anger bubbled inside of him and he wanted to lash out. He wanted to tell this mortal what he truly felt, but he kept himself in check, if not for anything else but to ensure that she wouldn’t spank him again.

“Loki, I’m gonna have to go to the store this afternoon,” said Jane, scooping eggs onto her fork. “Darcy is going to come by and keep an eye on you while I’m gone.”

Loki glanced over at her.

“No, she isn’t going to take you out of the apartment. You’ve lost my trust after what you pulled yesterday. You aren’t getting out of here for a long time. Unless you can prove to me that you’re going to behave.”

Loki huffed, stabbing more of his food with his fork, making more of a mess than actually eating it.

“And don’t you dare try to trick Darcy again.” She shook a finger at him. “If you do, I’m going to take that ruler to your butt again when I get home, and you won’t be sitting down for the rest of this week.”

Loki continued to stare at her.

“You would enjoy that, wouldn’t you?” he finally said in a bitter, disdainful tone, barely above a whisper.

“No, I wouldn’t. I’m not a cruel person, Loki. I don’t get any sort of pleasure out of spanking you, and I don’t enjoy causing you pain. You’re the one who brings pain on yourself. You need to learn to think about the consequences of your actions before you do them. I spanked you last night because you did bad things and have gotten too out of control. As long as you’re staying here in this apartment, you’re going to learn how to be respectful of others, behave, and act like somebody. You’re mortal now, so you’re going to have to be careful what you do. Do you want to go off on your own and end up getting killed?” Loki remained quiet. “I don’t want that happening. I also don’t want to have to bail you out of jail, or whatever other trouble you get into. You’re _my_ responsibility now since Thor put me in charge of you. We’re gonna have to learn to live and work together if we’re ever going to make this whole thing work. So if I have to heat your bottom with my ruler in order to get through to you, then I’m going to do it. You’re going to learn that bad boys get spanked.”

Loki pouted at her words.

She smiled and squeezed his arm. “I’m sorry it has to be like this. Believe me, it’s a…bit embarrassing.”

“You’re embarrassed? What about me? Being spanked like a…” Loki lowered his gaze, “Like a child.”

“You act like one.” She skritched at his arm. “Whether you like it or not, the punishment fits.”

He scowled.

“Are you going to eat that or are you going to keep on mangling it?” she said with a smile, pointing at Loki’s plate.

After breakfast was out of the way, Loki shaved, took a shower, and got dressed for the day, eventually settling himself on the couch in the living room to watch TV until Darcy came and it was time for Jane to leave for the store. The trickster didn’t stir a muscle when the knock sounded on the door. He just kept his eyes glued to the screen in a silent, gloomy pout.

“I hope I’ll be able to do this today. I stayed up all night studying,” Darcy was saying as she walked into the living room, right before a big yawn. Jane put a finger to her mouth and made a shush gesture and then pointed in Loki’s direction.

“He’s touchy and upset about last night, just to warn,” she whispered. Darcy held back a smile, nodding that she understood. “I’m hoping he won’t be much trouble this time. He shouldn’t be, after our talk. But if he does give you any, just send him to his room and I’ll deal with him when I get back.”

“But what if he doesn’t obey?”

Jane’s eyes glanced over to the couch then back at Darcy. “Threaten him with the ruler. It’s lying on the coffee table. He’s terrified of that thing now, so it should work.”

Darcy nodded.

“I won’t be long,” said Jane, louder, shutting the door.

“Sooooo...” Darcy threw her purse on the floor and sat down in one of the chairs, looking over at the TV screen. “Whatcha watching?”

There was no answer. She glanced over at Loki and saw he was fast asleep, hugging one of the throw pillows. She smiled and then yawned. She felt like doing the same thing herself since she didn’t get much sleep the night before. Since the trickster looked like he wasn’t going to move for awhile, she got comfortable in her chair, sleep overcoming her a few minutes after.

Loki cracked an eye open and looked over at Darcy, smiling when he saw her mouth standing wide open, faintly snoring. He quietly sat up and got to his feet, all the time keeping his eyes on the girl. Slowly and carefully he made his way over to the door. Stealing another glance over his shoulder to make sure Darcy was still asleep, he eased the locks open and then finally the door itself and slipped through and out into the hallway.

 

When Jane came home a couple of hours later, she was met with a crowd of people crammed into the second-floor hall. Everyone was agitated. Some were angry. Some shouted at each other. She wasn’t sure what it was all about, but she didn’t really care. Maybe someone’s laundry got mixed up, who knows? All she knew was that she was tired and wanted to get home. She pushed her way through the crowd until she arrived at the last apartment at the end of the hall, unlocked the door, and stepped in, juggling grocery sacks as she went.

“Jane!” Darcy greeted her. “I am so glad you’re home.”

The words weren’t comforting. Jane immediately rolled her eyes, dreading what was going to come next.

“What’s he done now?” Jane asked.

“He sneaked out of the apartment when I dozed off and switched all of the numbers on this floor,” said Darcy hastily. “It’s a good thing I woke up when I did and was able to catch him, otherwise the whole building would be in a state of confusion right now.”

“Is that…” Jane pointed at the door.

Darcy slowly nodded. “They’re still trying to get the mess straightened out. It was crazy earlier. People were going in the wrong apartments. People were screaming. Doors slamming. I think some guy down the hall got punched in the face by an elderly woman. The landlord’s been up here about twenty times in the last hour alone, trying to figure out everything and calm tempers.”

“Where is he?”

“The man that woman hit or the landlord?” Darcy gave her a weird look.

“No, the one responsible for this. His Majesty, the God of Mischief.”

“In his room.” Darcy pointed toward the hall. “I’ve been standing guard until you got home to make sure he doesn’t sneak out again.”

Jane shoved the grocery sacks in Darcy’s arms and stormed off to Loki’s room. She banged on the door and jiggled the knob, but it was locked. She banged on it again.

“Loki, open this door right now! You’re in enough trouble as it is, don’t make it worse.”

Silence met her for a few seconds. Then she heard the knob slowly unlock and turn from the other side. She shoved it open and barged in before Loki could finish opening it. The trickster quickly ran to the other side of the room and pushed himself against the closet door as if he could succeed in melting into the woodwork.

“Come here,” Jane commanded. She pointed at the floor in front of her. “Here, NOW!”

Loki swallowed and slowly walked forward, stopping where she pointed. She reached out and snatched his arm and dragged him with her.

“No, no! What are you going to do?” he nervously asked as he was dragged through the living room. He used his free hand to shield his backside. Darcy still stood in the middle of the room with her hands full of grocery sacks, watching the whole scene in amusement.

“You’re going to go out there and help them put the numbers back on the right apartments,” Jane answered, opening the door and shoving Loki out into the crowd. She turned to address all of her neighbors. “Here’s the man responsible for switching our numbers. He’s really sorry for the mix-up and kindly volunteers to help you put the right numbers back on the right doors.”

Loki’s cheeks blushed when everyone turned to look at him. Some glared angrily as if they could rip him apart with their stare alone.

“Go on,” Jane whispered, secretly giving Loki’s backside a firm swat to spur him forward. He was still sore from the night before, so he winced and placed his hands behind him to shield his sensitive area from any more smacks she might have in mind to give him. He turned an annoyed look to her, his cheeks blushing a deeper red. He mouthed something like, “Not here.” She nodded for him to go help the people.

Sighing, Loki gave in and helped. Jane made sure to stand in the doorway of her apartment and watch, keeping an eye on Loki to make sure he didn’t try to sneak away. When the task was completed and everyone went back to their own apartments, Loki shoved his hands in his jeans pockets and slowly walked over to her.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” she said, her arms crossed over her chest.

Loki gave a quick shrug, not bothering to look up from the floor. “Ar-are you going to spank me?”

Jane slowly nodded.

Loki nudged the floor with his shoe.

“Go to your room,” she quietly said.

He sniffed back a tear and walked past her.

Jane closed the door and turned an exasperated look to Darcy.

“You’re really gonna spank him again?” she asked.

“Yes, I am,” Jane answered, walking over and picking up the ruler from the coffee table. She looked it over, thinking. “He needs to learn that he’s going to get one whenever he does bad things. Hopefully, in time, he’ll start acting his age.”

“That’ll be the day,” Darcy said with a snort and a laugh.

“I can at least attempt to make some sort of headway with him,” Jane replied. “At least he knows who’s in charge around here now.”

Jane threw the ruler down on the table and walked toward Loki’s room. She entered and closed the door behind her. Seeing Jane enter, Loki got up from the bed and backed up into the corner. Jane walked toward him. Neither said a word for the longest time, but just stood and stared, both expecting the other to make the first move.

“Why did you do it?” Jane asked, breaking the silence.

Loki shrugged. “I was bored. I thought it’d be fun.”

Jane bent over and picked up a book from the floor and tossed it on the bed. Loki’s eyes followed it.

“That’s a book, Loki. I gave it to you so you wouldn’t be bored. And I also have a TV in the living room. That also helps to relieve boredom. I have tons of DVDs and Netflix. You can use them anytime you wish. But what do you do? You go out and you take off all the numbers on every apartment on this floor and you switch them.”

Loki kept silent, looking down at the floor.

“What’s more is that you disobeyed me, again, by going out of the apartment.”

Loki swallowed. “I wasn’t going to leave the building. I just took the numbers off. I would have returned to the apartment.”

“That doesn’t make it acceptable, Loki, and you know that. You still disobeyed me by setting foot out of the apartment without my consent. Disobeying is disobeying. For that, you get punished. I’m shocked that I have to do this again this soon. Didn’t you listen to anything I said to you at breakfast?”

Loki sniffed, his eyes beginning to water.

“Unzip your pants,” said Jane when Loki refused to reply. “Let’s get this over with so we can move on.”

Loki hesitated then did as she said. She firmly took him by the arm and seated herself on the bed and threw him over her left knee as she had done before. Loki was already whimpering. Jane grabbed hold of his jeans and pulled them down to his thighs, leaving his boxers in place.

“Nooo, please don’t,” said Loki, kicking and throwing his hands back to cover his rear. “I’m still sore from last night.”

“You should have thought of that before you went off on your little mischievous adventure,” she replied, removing his hands and pinning them under him. “Did you honestly think you would get away with it? Were you trying to test me?”

“N-no!”

“I think you were.” She pulled his boxers tight so that the curve of his rear was visible through them. “Well, mister, you’re going to learn right now that you’re going to get spanked every time you do something like this; I don’t care how sore you are prior. Like I said this morning, your bad actions are going to reap unpleasant consequences.”

Loki squinted his eyes closed, expecting to feel the bite of the ruler, but what came instead was Jane’s hand coming down with a crisp pop right across both of his cheeks. She quickly fell into a steady stream of hard smacks administered one after the other over every inch of his rear, not missing his under curve. She laid down close to twenty or thirty slaps before she stopped.

“Owwwww…” Loki sniveled. It wasn’t as painful as the ruler, he admitted, but it still hurt, especially when compiled with the soreness that had been there before it. The short spanking was just enough to reignite the old sting, even through his underwear.

“Are you sorry for what you did?” Jane asked. When Loki refused to answer she delivered another hard smack to his sensitive underside.

“Ouch! Yes!” he wailed out. “Yes, I’m sorry! I won’t ever do it again, I swear!”

Jane doubted that he was telling the truth, but she would accept it anyway. She nodded and pulled his pants back up and patted his back.

“You can get up now,” she said.

Loki scrambled to his feet and fumbled to zip up his jeans. He looked at her, curious as to why she had been so lenient on him.

“Th-that was it?” he asked, rubbing his bottom tenderly.

Jane smiled at his expression. “Part of your punishment was correcting what you did, in this case helping to replace the numbers on the correct doors. I thought I would go easy on you when it comes to the spanking part.” She held up a finger. “But don’t you think for a minute that you’ll get off this easy every time.”

Loki nodded, sniffling.

“If you ever pull something like this again, I’ll use my ruler instead of my palm. And you won’t be able to sit down for a very long time, understand?”

Loki nodded.

Jane got up and squeezed his arm lovingly. “I want you to stay here in your room until lunch is ready. While you’re here, I want you to think about everything that’s happened since last night. And I mean _really_ think about it.”

With that, Jane disappeared out the door and closed it behind her. Loki sniffled, giving his bottom another good rub. He turned to look out the window and thought over things. How is it that he ended up in this situation again?—two spankings in not even a day’s time. He admitted to himself that he had made a very stupid mistake that afternoon, one of which he wouldn’t be making again. He had been so angry that he hadn’t thought things through, and it had cost him. He rubbed the underside of his bottom while he thought of that cost. All of this threw a wrench into his plans. How was he ever going to get out of the apartment now? Since Jane now held the threat of spanking over his head, it was going to be awfully hard.

He sniffed a few tears back and looked toward the door. He hated admitting it, but he deserved both of those spankings. Jane was trying to be nice to him, even giving him a room to stay in, and he had manipulated her, disobeyed her, and lied to her all within several days. He was a bit ashamed at the way he had acted. What’s more, he was ashamed that she had to stoop to spanking him for those actions.

Sighing, he leaned against the wall. He was going to have to be more careful from now on.


	10. Nightmares

**~ Five Days Later ~**

Jane startled awake and peered through the darkness. Another scream came to her ears, causing her to bolt upright in bed. It sounded like someone being run through with a knife. She fumbled around on the night table until she found her phone. She punched a button and a pale light lit up the room.

“Don’t hurt me! Please, don’t hurt me.” The agonized scream came again. It sounded like Loki, but she wasn’t sure. Her first thought was that someone had broken into the apartment and met up with the trickster. 

“What is he doing now,” she mumbled to herself as she quickly threw her covers off and grabbed her robe. She knelt down on her knees and grabbed up a baseball bat from under her bed. She bought it and put it there for defensive purposes a few months back since there had been a scare of burglars around the area. She struggled with the lock on her door a few seconds, finally getting it open. Her hand tightened around the bat as she walked out into the hallway. The place was quiet, though, with no sign of an intruder. Curious, she eased her bat down and walked up to Loki’s door and lightly knocked.

“Loki, are you okay?” She opened it and stepped inside, propping her bat against the hall wall. It was dark. She felt around until she found the light switch and turned the overhead light on. She squinted until her eyes adjusted. But what her eyes landed on was an empty, badly disheveled bed. The first thing that came to her was that Loki snuck out of the apartment and the scream she had heard was one of the neighbors. Anger rose inside of her. 

“I’m going to bust his backside,” she mumbled under her breath. She was about to turn and leave when something on her right caught her eyes. It was Loki. He was curled into a ball in the corner.

“Loki?” Her anger was quickly replaced by concern as she ran over to him. The trickster jumped at her touch and cowered deeper into himself.

“Don’t hurt me,” he whimpered. “I beg of you. Don’t hurt me anymore.” It didn’t sound like he was addressing her, but rather someone else. This startled her and she quickly scanned the room to make sure they were indeed alone. She got up and walked to the closet, opening it and looking inside. Next, she looked under the bed. No one was there. She returned to Loki’s side and knelt beside him, putting her hand on his shoulder and rubbing it gently.

“It’s okay, Loki, no one’s going to hurt you,” she whispered. Loki pushed her hand away and tried to retreat away from her, hugging the wall. “Okay, Loki. It’s okay. You’re here with me, remember? You’re in my apartment. No one’s here but us.”

She studied the trickster closer. His breathing was labored and his face was all sweaty. His eyes reflected terror as if he had seen a ghost. And he even looked paler than normal, she thought.

“Loki, no one’s going to hurt you.” She combed her hand gently through his hair, skritching the back of his neck and rubbing her thumb over his cheek.

He finally lifted his head to look at her. Though it was more like she was invisible and he was staring right through her. His face was masked in confusion like he wasn’t quite sure where he was or who she was. The whole incident was now starting to worry Jane.

“Come on, let’s get you back to bed,” she said, grabbing hold of Loki’s arm and gently helping him to stand. He stumbled the short distance and lay back down, curling into a fetal position and hugging himself.

“J-Jane?” he said, finally acknowledging she was there.

“Yes, Loki, I’m here.” She reached out and took his hand and held it, rubbing circles into his back. “What’s wrong? Did something scare you?”

“Nightmare,” he simply said as if he was five-years-old. “It felt so real.”

A sudden pang of guilt swept over Jane. Loki mentioned something about nightmares before, but she had shrugged it off thinking that it was just Loki trying to make her feel sorry for him. Apparently, he was serious about it. Now she couldn’t help wondering what sort of nightmare would make the trickster act in such a way.

“What happened? What was the nightmare about?”

“Chitauri.” Loki gulped. “It burns. It burns so bad. I don’t want to be tortured anymore. I don’t want to be tortured!” Loki clawed at his face with his fingers and mussed his hair up. “I DON’T WANT THEM IN MY HEAD AGAIN!” he finally screamed out. His actions scared Jane into stepping back. But she gathered her senses quickly and approached the trickster again.

“The pain!” he cried, scrunching up his face as if he suddenly had a shooting pain from a headache. “It hurts so badly.”

Good gracious, she thought, the Chitauri tortured him? Jane suddenly felt like her stomach was about to turn over.

“Shhhh.” She grabbed Loki and pulled him into her arms. “You aren’t going to be tortured again. The Chitauri aren’t here.”

Loki latched onto her, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her shoulder. He squeezed her a little too tightly, but she wasn’t about to say anything. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him. “I don’t want them in my head again…” he babbled repeatedly. “No more torture. No more pain, please.”

Loki lapsed into a state of delirium. Jane’s soothing words helped to calm him, but he kept on repeating the same words over and over. Jane picked up the green cape from the other side of the bed and pulled it over Loki’s trembling form and tucked it around him snuggly, hugging him close to her body and cradling him in her arms.

“No more torture…please…burns…it’s so hot…makes me feel ill…and weak…” he continued to repeat under his breath. His body felt limp and lifeless in her arms. If it wasn’t for the death grip he had on her and the fact he was mumbling incoherently, she would have never known he was alive.

“It’s okay, Loki,” she cooed softly, running her hand over his head. “The Chitauri are not going to get you anymore. You’re safe.”

“They hurt me,” Loki mumbled.

Jane didn’t want to admit it to herself, but she was scared. What would she do if Loki didn’t snap out of this? She suddenly realized that the situation was worse than she originally thought. These weren’t just ordinary nightmares. It was posttraumatic stress. She looked down at the man in her arms. Could she have been wrong about him? Had he been telling the truth?

“What did the Chitauri do to you?” she whispered. “I know no one wants to listen to you—no one ever gives you a chance to talk and speak your mind. But I’m here, Loki. I’m ready to listen.” Loki continued to stare blankly at the ceiling. Jane smiled and ran a finger over his cheek and down his nose, his face muscles twitching in reaction to the light touch, his nose scrunching up when she ran her finger down it for a second time. It was then that his eyes moved to look at her face and he seemed to come down a few notches. She could feel his muscles finally relaxing. Gently, she patted his back and continued rubbing soothing circles into it.

“They tortured me,” he got out, his voice getting ready to crack. “Heat...They left me in the heat. It burned.” He winced, putting his hand to his head. “They hurt my mind…telepathically.”

Tears started to flow from his eyes now and Jane held him closer to her.

“They threatened me with pain. They starved me. They made me do things I didn’t want to do,” he sobbed. “Jane, I didn’t want to kill all of those people. I never meant to hurt anyone. I only wanted to rule. That’s all. I only wanted to rule. Agent Coulson…The Chitauri did it! Not me!”

“Shhhhhh…It’s okay.” Jane put her head on his. She didn’t fully understand everything he was talking about, but it seemed to help him to get it all out into the open. But…Coulson…had he died? A momentary pain hit her. He had been so nice to her when S.H.I.E.L.D. relocated her during the invasion.

“I tried to warn the Avengers in the only way I could.” He sniffed. “I couldn’t…I couldn’t do anything else or they would hurt me…possibly kill me…”

Jane still didn’t trust Loki or most of the things he said on a regular basis. He was a trickster, after all, and was known for being a liar. But as she sat there on the bed, holding him in her arms, she somehow knew he was telling the truth…just this once. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but she just knew. Maybe it was part of the wisdom Odin gave her. Whatever the case may be, she felt that there was sincerity in his words and his voice. For once, the master of lies was telling the truth and there was no deceit anywhere in it. He was deeply and genuinely scared, as well as feeling guilt for actions someone else made him do. So much so that he resulted to telling the truth and didn’t seem to care.

Jane’s maternal instincts kicked into high gear and she hugged Loki tighter to her and did all she could to make the trickster feel protected. She continued to coo softly in his ear, telling him that he was safe; she hummed simple tunes—anything, just to calm him down.

Finally, Loki went quiet and still. His delirium seemed to have subsided for the time being, which was a good sign, Jane thought. He smiled up at her, wrapping his arms tighter around her. Gently, Jane moved and got up, taking Loki by the hand.

“Come with me,” she said. 

She led him to the kitchen where she eased him down into a chair. She smoothed his hair down and pulled his cape tighter around him, patting him on the shoulder. She then walked over to the stove and put some water on to boil and reached into a cabinet for a couple of teacups. She kept herself busy, stealing a glance in Loki’s direction occasionally. The trickster didn’t move much—just sat there, staring forward at the table in front of him.

After awhile Jane carried two steaming cups of tea to the table and set one in front of Loki.

“It’s chamomile tea,” she said. “It’ll relax you and help you sleep.”

Loki sniffed at his cup and took a sip.

“You really are safe here,” she gently said, patting his hand and giving it a squeeze. “No one knows that you’re here except for Thor, Odin, and Heimdall. The Chitauri were sent back through the wormhole. They aren’t going to be back anytime soon.”

“But I killed all those people,” he said, a few tears escaping down his cheeks.

“You said yourself that it wasn’t your fault. The Chitauri made you do it.”

“I know, but I still feel horrible about it.” He turned his teary gaze to Jane. “Y-you aren’t going to spank me for it, are you?”

Jane’s heart went out to him. He sounded so much like a small child. “Oh, no…no, no,” she said barely above a whisper, giving his hand another squeeze and running her fingers through his hair, brushing it back. “I’m not going to spank you. It’s wrong to punish someone for something they were forced to do. The Chitauri are to blame, not you.” She smiled at a sudden thought. “You want me to spank the Chitauri?” She said it hoping to put a smile on Loki’s face. It worked. The trickster’s lips curled into an amused grin, but it fell as quickly as it appeared.

“You say that it’s wrong to punish someone for something they were forced to do. Yet, I’m mortal and here now for something I didn’t do.”

“Odin doesn’t understand,” she said.

“I don’t like being controlled,” he said suddenly, sniffling and rubbing his eyes. “I don’t like having someone inside my head.”

Loki scooted his chair closer to Jane and wrapped his arms around her. She patted his back. “It’s okay, Loki. No one’s inside your head now. Everything’s going to be fine. Take all the time you need to recover.”

Not knowing why she did it, Jane planted a kiss on his forehead before leaning her head against his.

“You like green, don’t you?” She smiled, holding part of his cape up. It was a cliché question, she knew, but she didn’t know what else to talk about in order to change the subject. She felt like she needed to get Loki’s mind on something else besides the current problem, just to help him relax.

Loki nodded his head shyly, smiling. For some reason, she found that amusing—that someone like Loki would have a favorite color.

“Any particular shade of green or just all?”

Loki shrugged. “All.”

“Anything else you like?”

Loki was silent for a minute before he meekly answered, “Animals.”

Jane grinned, not believing what he had just said. This big bad man who nearly toppled New York was an animal lover?

“You like animals?”

Loki nodded. He looked at her and noticed her expression.

“Not in _that_ way.” Loki frowned. “Your stupid Midgard myths have a few mistakes. For the records, I never did that. Sleipnir existed before I was born, created by magic. I wish you mortals would change that in your books. You make me sound like a perverted sicko.”

“That’s good to know.” Jane cleared her throat. “What sort of animals do you like, then?”

“Any kind,” he whispered. “I can talk to them and they won’t judge or hate me.”

Jane gave his shoulder a squeeze. The air was silent for several minutes as they both sat there in the kitchen. She adjusted the cape around Loki’s shoulder and patted him.

“I think it’s time we headed to bed again,” said Jane, looking at the clock on the wall. “Do you feel up to sleeping?

Loki yawned, pulling away from Jane. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Come on, then.”

Loki drank the last sip of his tea and got up to follow. When they reached the bedroom, Loki crawled back into bed and made himself comfortable. Jane turned to put his cape on the chair in the corner, but he stretched out a hand for it. She looked at him, puzzled as to why he wanted it. Not saying a word, she handed it back to him. He eagerly took it, pulling it into his embrace like a toddler would do with a favorite blanket. A smile formed on Jane’s lips as she struggled to take in what she had just seen. So that explained why his cape was always on the bed. She pulled the sheets tighter around Loki and rubbed his shoulder.

“Don’t leave,” he whispered.

“There aren’t any Chitauri here.”

“I know.” Loki gave a quick shrug. “But I still don’t want to be alone tonight.”

Jane smiled. “Okay, I’ll just go get a blanket and a pillow and I’ll sit over there in the chair. Will that be good?”

Smiling, Loki nodded and snuggled his face into his pillow.

When Jane returned with her pillow and blanket, she tossed them into the chair and walked over beside Loki’s bed. She stretched out her hand and placed something on the night table. Whatever it was made a small clink sound. Loki looked around, his eyes landing on a small green blown glass dinosaur.

“I thought you might like it,” Jane said. “It’s fragile, so be careful with it.”

Loki blinked, his eyes intently studying the pretty trinket as if he’d never seen anything like it before. She couldn’t help but be intrigued by the child-like innocence in his facial features. She wasn’t sure if he was admiring the trinket itself or the animal. Did they have dinosaurs in Asgard?

“Thank you,” he finally whispered, smiling.

“You’re welcome,” Jane whispered back. “It’s to help keep the Chitauri away.”

Loki’s smile widened as he watched her walk over to the chair and attempt to make herself comfortable. He turned his attention back to the trinket on the night table. The lamp’s light made the little dinosaur shine and reflect a green light across the surface of the table. Gently, he reached over and touched it with a finger and ran it down the spikes on the dinosaur’s back. He wasn’t sure how it could keep the Chitauri away, but he was willing to try anything. Finally, he turned out the lamp and settled deeper under the covers.

“Good night, Loki,” Jane’s voice called to him.

“Good night, Jane,” he replied with a yawn.


	11. Measles

The following week and a half went by without very many problems. The nightmares showed themselves again, and each time they did Jane stayed in Loki’s room to help him feel protected. She quickly discovered that the chair she slept in was not made for sleeping, but if it meant Loki getting a good night’s sleep then she would tough it out. Although, she thought of sleeping on the floor one of the nights.

In time, both Jane and Loki learned to respect each other’s space. Loki spent his afternoons watching TV, reading, and drawing in the sketch pad Jane got for him, keeping himself as far away from Jane as he could while she worked. At nights they spent time either talking or watching a movie until it was time for bed. It was during these moments that they learned more about each other, like the fact that Loki was a pretty good artist. Jane marveled at all of the sketches and doodles he filled his sketch pad with. At first, it had taken the trickster some time to open up to Jane and show them to her, but he surprised her one night. After that, it became a nightly tradition for him to show her all of his new drawings he had done for that day. Finally, he had someone who was proud of something he’d done.

During these weeks, Loki behaved himself for the most part. There were still a few upsets here and there, like when it came to Loki still refusing to clean his room and expecting Jane to do his laundry. But he stayed out of trouble the best he could, making sure not to give Jane a reason to use her ruler on him again. The trickster eyed the long, flat piece of plastic with utter revulsion every time he passed by the coffee table. Some days he entertained thoughts of taking it and destroying it or tossing it out the window like he had done to the toaster. But he didn’t. After giving it much thought, he felt it wouldn’t do any good since Jane could just use her hand on him like she had already done…or use something else…like the wooden spoon he had seen in the kitchen drawer.

There were times when Loki actually proved to be helpful to Jane when it came to building her scientific equipment. He solved quite a few problems and even found ways of making it better. She was rather surprised as well as impressed with his knowledge of the tech, and even more baffled by his high intelligence level. There was no other way of putting it. Loki was a genius. It was hard for her to grasp this, considering how he normally acted. He was like a whole different person once he had something in his hands that required him to use his mind. So it quickly became commonplace to see Loki sitting on the living room floor each afternoon with an array of tools, electronic pieces, monitors, gadgets, wires, and computer pieces spread out around him. Each time he finished working on one of Jane’s projects, she praised him for doing such a fine job. The trickster was always pleased with this and beamed with excitement for the rest of the day. Jane allowed him to work and tinker on whatever he wanted since it helped to keep him out of trouble. As long as his mind was occupied with something, he seemed less interested in trying to get out of the apartment or sinking into his manipulative moods, which in turn meant fewer arguments, tantrums, and spankings.

Then one morning, everything changed.

“Loki, it’s time to get up.” Jane knocked on the door. “Breakfast.”

She heard Loki moan from inside and then cough. “Jane, I don’t feel good.”

“Yeah, right,” she replied. “Not gonna fall for that trick again.”

“I really don’t feel good.”

“Loki, if you’re lying to me, I’m going to get my ruler and come in there and spank your bottom. I don’t think that’s something you want happening this early in the morning.”

“I’m serious!” he choked out. “I don’t feel good!”

She opened the door and walked to the side of his bed. “Loki…”

He quickly put his hands over his rear. “Please don’t spank me,” he pleaded with big, innocent eyes, looking like he might cry. He sniffed and coughed. “I’m telling the truth. I really don’t feel good. I’m unwell. I keep coughing and my nose is leaking and my throat kinda hurts.”

She admitted that he did sound awful. But then again, he was a trickster. He could easily be playing with her. She bent over him and put her hand on his face.

“You _do_ feel warm.”

“Is that bad?” he asked with another cough.

“Well, yes, no…sort of. Just depends.” She moved her hand to his forehead. “You have a slight fever, but it doesn’t seem too bad.” Convinced that he wasn’t lying to her or trying to trick her, she smiled down at him and reached to pull the covers tighter around him, giving his arm a rub and playfully tugging at one of his hair curls. “You stay in bed today and get some rest.”

He wiped his nose with his sleeve and coughed. “Jane, am I going to die?”

“No, you aren’t going to die. You probably just have a cold or something.” She handed him his cape. He looked at it then looked at her. She smiled and gave him a wink. Slowly he took it, his cheeks turning slightly red. “Aw, don’t be embarrassed. It’s just us here. Besides, I think it’s kind of cute.”

“Thanks, I feel much better now,” he answered sarcastically, snuggling his face into the cape. “Don’t tell Thor.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.” Jane walked to the door. “Although, I’m pretty sure Heimdall knows.”

Loki grimaced.

Jane chuckled. “I’ll bring you some breakfast. Be back in a bit.”

Loki sighed. He forgot about Heimdall looking in on them. Now he hoped that his secret wouldn’t be spread all over Asgard. He brushed his nose against his cape and coughed. He felt miserable. He couldn’t understand how mortals lived with sicknesses. Although, it _was_ a good way to get some attention. Jane seemed to make over him once she knew he was sick. And she was going to bring him breakfast in bed on top of it. Maybe it would be worth it.

When Jane returned, she carried a TV tray into the room and stood beside the bed until Loki moved to a sitting position against the headboard. He stuffed pillows behind him to make it more comfortable.

“Here you go,” she said, putting the tray over Loki’s lap. “And here’s something for your fever.” She took a cold, wet rag off the tray, folded it over, and put it across Loki’s forehead.

“Thank you,” he said. He watched as Jane went around to the other side of the bed and opened the blinds enough for the morning light to filter through.

“I’ll be in the living room. Holler if you need anything.”

Loki gave a nod.

A few hours later, Loki quickly became bored with staying in bed. So he got up and moved to the couch. He tried to read for awhile, but he just didn’t feel like focusing on it. He settled for watching TV instead. At least then he could drop off for a quick nap without reading the same sentence ten times. By this time, he was beginning to get annoyed with his constant coughing and the fact that his nose wanted to keep running. Jane had set a box of tissue beside him to help with that part, and he was quickly building up a pile of used ones on the floor beside his foot.

Jane tried to make the trickster as comfortable as possible. She brought him soup for lunch, and orange juice, water, and whatever else he wanted or felt that he could stomach. She taught him how to properly use cough drops, which helped to tone down his violent coughing fits and gave him some relief. And she brought him cool rags or ice packs to help with his fever.

“How long does this usually last?” Loki groaned as Jane switched out his ice pack for a fresh one. “I thought I would be over it by now.”

Jane laughed. “These things can last for about a week sometimes, maybe longer depending on how bad it ends up getting.”

Loki groaned again. “You mean I will have to feel like this for a week??”

Jane made a face of sympathy at him. She wanted to say something like, “Poor baby,” but she thought he wouldn’t appreciate that.

“Sorry,” she said instead. “Such is the life of mortals.”

Loki groaned again for the third time, rolling his head to the side.

 

In the days following, Loki got worse. At first, Jane didn’t think much of it, aside from it probably being the cold going into its worst stages before it gets better. But it was within the first couple of days when she noticed that Loki’s fever seemed to be getting higher. On top of that, she saw him rubbing at his eyes a lot. He suddenly preferred to stay in darkened areas of the apartment, complaining that the light hurt his eyes. One night before bed, she somehow got him calmed down enough to check him out. She was concerned over the fact that his eyes looked red and a little inflamed. And he was burning up.

“Here, put this on your face,” Jane said, handing Loki another ice pack. He moaned and did as she said. It felt good. The fever was making him sicker than he probably would have been. She couldn’t understand what was wrong with him. She’d never seen a cold do this.

“So…hot…” he said, his voice muffled by the ice pack.

“You’re a Frost Giant, right? Can’t you, I don’t know, cool yourself off?”

Loki shook his head. “I’m mortal now. Any abilities connected with my Jotunn form were put into hibernation, so to speak, when my powers were taken away. In other words, I’m basically just as human as you are, give or take a few differences.” Loki wrinkled his nose in disgust at the words he spoke.

It was Jane’s turn to groan.

That night and many other nights turned sleepless and restless for both of them. Loki spent his time tossing and turning in misery, and Jane spent most of her time running to and fro getting things for him and sitting by his bedside, making sure the fever didn’t get high enough to be dangerous.

One of the nights, Jane came into the room to find that Loki had thrown up. He was lying curled up on the side of the bed that hadn’t been soiled, hugging himself and looking very embarrassed.

“I’m sorry I ruined your sheets,” he said shyly.

“Awww, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Everyone has to throw up sometime.” Jane helped Loki over to the chair and wiped his mouth off. Then she began taking the sheets off the bed. Loki kept quiet and solemn as he watched her go out and come back in with clean ones.

“Jane,” he said, “I feel like I’m going to do it again.”

Quickly, Jane grabbed him up and got him to the bathroom just in time for him to throw up his stomach in the bathtub. She had hoped he would aim for the toilet, but she couldn’t complain. Better the tub than in the floor.

“You stay there for awhile until you feel that it’s passed,” said Jane. “I’ll go finish putting clean sheets on the bed.”

“Just shoot me and be done with it,” he moaned out. He kept his head resting on the side of the tub. “I wouldn’t wish this misery on anyone, not even Thor.”

A few more days passed and Jane’s fears started coming true. Loki didn’t get any better. In fact, he got worse as the days progressed. His fever stayed and he started showing other signs that worried her, like the spots and rash he started breaking out in. If she didn’t know better, she could have sworn it looked like the measles. She consulted her medical book as well as websites she found online and compared photos to what was on Loki’s skin. Sure enough, it looked the same.

She didn’t want to take him to the hospital or to the doctor. Not only was she unsure how she was going to afford the bills since Loki didn’t have insurance, but she was scared of the doctors finding out that Loki wasn’t exactly human. How would she explain that? Even though Loki was now mortal, she assumed that he was still different from humans in certain areas of his body…like on the inside and his blood and DNA and whatever else. She didn’t want to have to give an explanation for the differences if the doctors found something in any tests they decided to run on him. That might open up bigger problems than they already had, especially if the doctors thought something that was completely normal in Loki was some horrible growth or abnormality that needed surgery or something. Who knows? Doctors were funny sometimes.

She also dreaded taking Loki because…well…it was Loki. He probably had never been to an earth doctor. She didn’t want him having any more stress than he already had. Due to his childish nature, she could just imagine how a trip to the doctor would go.

But one thing was for sure…she couldn’t sit by and watch him suffer. His fever was getting worse by the minute and it needed to come down.

Jane walked into Loki’s room and stopped beside his bed. She peered down at the pitiful face that was half buried in the pillow. She stretched out her hand and gently ran it over the trickster’s hair, feeling of his forehead and cheeks.

“My skin feels like it’s on fire, and I have the chills. How is it even possible for a person to be hot and cold at the same time?” he said in misery, coughing.

“Come on, Loki, I’m going to take you to the emergency room,” said Jane, pulling the covers off the trickster.

“What?”

“I’m going to take you to the hospital,” she translated, helping Loki out of bed. “You’re running a dangerously high fever and the rash is worrying me. I just hope it’s not what I think it is.”

“Is this hospital like the healing rooms on Asgard?”

“Uh…I guess?” Jane laid out some clothes for him and walked to the door. “It’s where we mortals go when we’re unwell.”

Jane called Darcy and told her what was going on while Loki got dressed. It was late at night, but the young girl said she would meet them at the hospital.

There was no problem getting Loki in the car. Due to his illness, he didn’t make any attempt to escape. Instead, he curled himself up in the seat and stared out the window, half in a daze, during the whole ride there. That’s when Jane knew he was really sick.

“It’s all right, buddy, we’ll get you well again soon,” Jane said softly as she pulled the car into a parking space.

While Jane filled out papers, Loki sat in one of the chairs in the waiting room and studied the new surroundings. He now felt anxious on top of his sickness. Already he didn’t like the place. Unlike the healing rooms back on Asgard, it had a funny smell to it, and there were people walking around wearing white coats and strange looking instruments hanging around their necks. He didn’t know much about human hospitals, he secretly admitted, but he knew enough about them to make him nervous. Most of what he’d heard or learned had been in passing, so he wasn’t sure how much of it was true. He had heard rumors about there being torture devices and a lot of pain. This thought made him sink down in his seat. Granted that some of the procedures in the healing rooms hadn’t always been comfortable or pleasant, but the healers always went out of their way to see that their patients had as little pain as possible. But then again, the worst sickness you could have in Asgard was a battle wound, which was already painful enough.

Since Loki’s condition was highly questionable, the emergency room took him quicker than normal. Jane and a nurse helped him into a private examination room and placed him on the gurney in the middle. The nurse examined him right away, her face scrunching up in concern as she studied the rash. Loki kept a wary eye on the stranger, not trusting her.

“He’s been running a very high fever,” said Jane. “Which is why I thought it best to bring him here.”

“Mm-hm,” the nurse mumbled, still preoccupied with turning Loki’s arms over and looking at the splotches. “Well, I think you’re right. It does look like the measles. But I’ll have someone come in and look him over so we can get a second opinion.”

Loki turned a worried face to Jane then turned back to the nurse. What were measles? It didn’t sound good to him, whatever it was.

“I’m assuming he never had them as a child?”

Jane nervously glanced down at Loki. “Uh, no, he never had them.”

“Has he ever been vaccinated for them?”

Jane shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

Loki’s eyes worriedly looked from Jane to the nurse. He wasn’t exactly sure what they were talking about, but it worried him greatly.

The nurse walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Loki grabbed hold of Jane’s shirt sleeve. “Please, don’t let them hurt me,” he mewled. The way he said it made Jane’s heart drop. It reminded her of all the times he had screamed out after having his nightmares about the Chitauri. None of this had to be good for his post-traumatic stress, but she didn’t know what else to do.

“It’s okay, they’re going to help you get better,” she replied in a soothing tone, running her hand over Loki’s head.

“But…will it hurt?”

Jane’s mouth worked. “I don’t know.”

Loki let out a whimper.

A few minutes passed and the door opened again. Two more nurses entered along with the one that had been there before, and a male doctor came in behind them. Loki’s eyes nervously studied each of them in turn, finally resting on the nurse that was putting on a pair of latex gloves.

“That _does_ look like measles,” the doctor murmured, putting on his glasses and walking closer to the bed. “Not a bad case but measles nonetheless.”

“Could you step outside for a little while, miss?” one of the nurses said to Jane.

She hesitated. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, you see—”

“We won’t be long. Just wait outside in the hall.”

Shrugging, Jane slipped outside. She felt guilty for doing so, especially when hearing Loki’s whimpering pleas for her not to leave him as she exited the room. She walked a little way down the hall so she wouldn’t have to hear them through the door and was met by Darcy running up to her.

“How is he?” she said, out of breath.

“The doctor and nurses are in there with him now. They think he has the measles.”

“Measles?” said Darcy. 

“It’s not a bad case from what the doctor said,” said Jane. “I’m sure he’ll be over it in a week.”

“But how did he get them?”

“I don’t know…” Jane shook her head. “Wait. That day you took him out and he got away from you. We still don’t know where he went.”

“He must have come in contact with someone who was carrying it. Figures,”

“It’s the only explanation.”

“You know, I want to say he deserves what he gets, but I can’t say anyone deserves measles.” 

“Have you had them?” Jane asked.

“Yeah. You?”

Jane nodded.

“So, it’s safe for us to be around him,” said Darcy.

“We just need to quarantine him inside the apartment until he’s well.”

“But what if they want to keep him here?”

Jane made a face at that thought. “I guess he’ll just have to stay here.”

“That’ll go over really well with Loki.”

The two women’s conversation was suddenly interrupted by a loud uproar coming from within the room where Loki was. It was followed by sounds of a struggle, some colorful words, and a loud clatter. The door shook violently as if someone had been thrown against it. Jane and Darcy looked at each other.

“Did they just stick him with a needle?” Darcy breathed out.

“No, I don’t think so,” Jane replied. “That sounded more angry than painful.”

Poor Loki, Jane thought. She couldn’t help wondering if she had made a mistake bringing him to the hospital.


	12. Big Baby Trickster

It was a good twenty or thirty minutes before the door to the examination room opened and the nurses and doctor came out. All of them looked like they had been through a hurricane. The doctor was in the middle of adjusting his coat when he walked up to Jane and Darcy.

“You’ve got a lively one there, despite the fact that he’s sick as a dog,” the doctor said, running his hand over his hair to smooth it down.

Darcy’s eyes widened. “What happened?”

The doctor chuckled. “Nothing too bad. He just got a little angry when the nurses tried taking his temperature.”

Jane couldn’t help raising an eyebrow at that, wondering how something that simple and harmless could turn into a brawl. But then again, this _was_ Loki, she had to remind herself.

“So…does he have the measles?” she asked.

“Yes, he does.” The doctor stuck his hands in his coat pockets. “Thankfully, it’s not a bad case of them. But, yes, he does have them. Naturally, there’s nothing we can do except make him as comfortable as possible and let the sickness run its course.”

“When do you think it’ll end?”

“A week, maybe? Two at the most.”

“Can we take him home?” Darcy asked.

“That’s what I’d like to talk to you about. If it’s okay with you,” He turned to Jane, “we’d like to quarantine him here until he’s well.”

“I was afraid you’d say that,” said Jane.

“Sorry. It’s just for precaution. Has he slept at all?”

Jane shook her head. “Just naps, mostly. He’s had a rough time at nights due to the fever.”

“I’ll see about getting him something that’ll help with that. He needs rest.” The doctor looked from Jane to Darcy. “Have both of you either been vaccinated or had the measles?”

Both women nodded simultaneously.

“Good.” The doctor sighed. “One less worry there.”

“Can I…” Jane motioned toward the door.

“Sure, go right ahead.”

Nodding, Jane walked toward the room and went in. Darcy followed close behind her.

“Hey, Loki,” said Jane cheerfully. The trickster huddled on the gurney, hospital blankets wrapped tightly around him. As soon as he heard Jane’s voice, his head shot up. He whimpered, his eyes starting to water.

“Jane…” he weakly got out, stretching his hand toward her. She put her hand on his and leaned over to give him a hug.

“How you doing?” she asked, ruffling his hair.

“One of those horrid women tried to stick something in my mouth,” Loki said, sounding disgusted.

“She was trying to take your temperature,” said Jane.

“I refused.”

“Why?” Darcy asked.

“I don’t know where that thing has been.”

“You let her take it anyway, didn’t you?” said Jane.

Loki’s entire face blushed a deep red and he covered his head with the blanket. “N-no, not exactly. She said that if I didn’t cooperate that she would stick it ‘where the sun doesn’t shine’. I failed to understand what she meant. Rather than show my ignorance, I said something rude. I-I didn’t know they would stick it _there_ …” He grimaced, shifting his bottom uncomfortably.

Jane put her hand in front of her mouth to hide a smile. “So that explains the angry shouting and scuffling we heard a few minutes ago.”

Loki nodded under the blanket.

“Wait, you mean…she stuck it up your bu—” Darcy’s sentence was cut off by Jane nudging her with her elbow. “Oh, my gosh, I thought they only did that to animals.”

Jane shot her a look. She still fought to keep a straight face, clearing her throat. She ran a comforting hand over Loki’s head.

“Can I go home now?” Loki whined, coughing.

“Um…about that…” Jane gave his hand a squeeze. “The doctor wants you to stay in the hospital until you get better.”

“Stay here?? I don’t want to stay here! It’s a horrible place.”

“I know, but you have to do what the doctor says. You have the measles and they want to keep you here just to be safe.”

“What are measles?”

“It’s a human disease.” Jane gestured at the splotches on his face and arms. “You have the symptoms. The doctor says you don’t have a very bad case, so that’s a good thing. You should be able to leave here in about a week.”

Loki looked at his arms then back up at Jane, confusion all over his face. “A week?! I’ve got to stay in this place a week??”

“Don’t worry, I’ll stay here with you.” She smiled.

Loki shook his head. “No! I’m not staying in this place. I’ve had enough. I want to go home.” He ended his sentence with a series of coughs and then fell back against the pillow.

“Loki, you need to get well.”

“I’ll never get well here.” He wheezed before coughing again. He wiped his nose on the blanket, making Darcy cringe in disgust. “They want to prod you with things too much.”

“Looks like I’ll have to go home and pack a few things for you,” said Jane, turning to Darcy. “You going to stay here with him until I come back?”

“Sure.”

“Be back in a little bit, okay? Darcy’s going to stay here with you.” Jane squeezed Loki’s hand and left.

 

Jane came back to the hospital to find they had already moved Loki to his room. She took the elevator to the third floor and walked down the long hallway to room 310. Darcy was standing outside the door and ran to meet her halfway.

“I would _not_ go in there just yet,” Darcy was saying as Jane walked up to the door. She stared at the large ‘quarantine’ sign taped to the center.

“Why?”

“Because he’s in a foul mood. He’s complained from the emergency room all the way up here. He’s made it known numerous times that he doesn’t want to stay here. He even punched a nurse in the face and gave her a black eye.”

“What?”

“It’s true! He punched her in the face before I could stop him.”

“What’s going on in there now?” Jane pointed at the door.

“I think a nurse is trying to get him changed into a hospital gown unless he’s knocked her out and thrown her out the window.”

Jane hesitated and then gave the door a push and walked in. Darcy followed her.

“Sir, please, just calm down.” She heard a nurse shout.

“I won’t wear that thing!” Loki’s voice shouted back. “You can’t make me!”

Jane blinked at the sight before her. Loki snatched the hospital gown out of the nurse’s hand and threw it on the floor, huddling up against his pillow in utter defiance, his lip pooching out in a pout. She knew that look all too well. It was the look that was usually followed by a really bad tantrum.

“Wait!” said Jane. “Wait, I’ve got this. Here, Loki, why don’t you put these on instead?” she said, pulling Loki’s silky pajamas out of her bag and handing them to him. The trickster gratefully took them. But instead of putting them on, he turned a hard glare at the nurse.

“I won’t put them on as long as she’s here.”

The nurse rolled her eyes and made her way out of the room. “I’ve never seen a grown man act so childish,” she mumbled, closing the door.

Loki turned to Jane and then to Darcy. Jane smiled and turned around to face the window. Darcy turned to face the door. Seeing that no one was watching, Loki changed out of his T-shirt and jeans and put on his pajamas.

“Okay,” he said, coughing. Jane and Darcy turned around. He handed Jane his clothes and got back in bed, pulling the blankets around him, trying to keep warm.

“Shame on you for acting that way to that nurse,” Jane scolded.

Loki cowered under the covers, giving Jane a pitiful look before sniffing and coughing. “She was trying to make me wear that awful gown.”

Darcy picked it up and laid it on the bed. “It’s a hospital gown. It’s what all patients wear when they’re in here.”

“But it’s stupid looking and it has no back.”

“No one’s going to make you wear it,” said Jane softly, brushing a lock of hair out of his face. “But you shouldn’t have thrown such a fit.”

Loki coughed. “I don’t feel good. What can you expect?”

“You could have just politely said ‘no’.”

“I did, but she still insisted that I wear it.”

“What about the nurse you gave a black eye to?”

“She was being annoying.” Loki sniffled and wiped his nose on the blanket. “Jane, I don’t feel good. Can we please have this conversation later?”

“Of course; I’m sorry.”

Loki looked up at her with innocent eyes.

“Poor baby,” Jane said with a smile.

“Don’t call me that,” he whined.

“You know you like to be called that,” she said, running her finger down his nose.

Loki shot her a scowl.

Another nurse came into the room, a clipboard and pen in one hand and a capped syringe and a cloth in the other. Darcy and Jane looked at the syringe before exchanging looks with each other.

“Oh, boy, here it comes,” Darcy breathed out, seating herself in one of the nearby chairs. She stuck her fingers in her ears and waited.

“Mister…Loki, is it?” the nurse queried, looking at her clipboard. “Named after the god, huh?”

Loki and Jane glanced at each other.

“It says here that you’ve been having trouble sleeping. Well, I’ve got something right here that’ll help with that.” Loki looked at the syringe, not fully understanding. “But first, let’s put this cool towel on your head. There, how’s that feel?”

Loki nodded.

“O-kay.” the nurse put her clipboard down. She took the syringe in her hands and uncapped it. Loki’s eyes widened.

“Wha-what’s that?” He looked from the nurse to Jane and back again. “What are you going to do to me? Jane, what does she have?”

“It’s to help you sleep,” the nurse said, smiling. “Just give me your arm.”

Loki jerked away and tried to move as close to Jane as possible. “Keep her away. She’s going to stab me!”

“I’m just gonna give you a shot. It’ll just be a little stick right in your arm.”

Loki scrambled to get off the bed, his legs tangling in the covers, but Jane grabbed onto him and put him back in his place. Again, she was thankful for the strength Odin gave her.

“Jane, what are you doing?” he croaked.

“It’s okay, Loki, don’t worry.” She pulled him into a hug, pinning his arm to his side and pressing her head against his. “Shhh, just calm down. I’ve got you.”

The nurse bent over the bed, pulled Loki’s sleeve up, and stuck the needle in his upper arm.

“OW!” Loki screamed, nearly causing Jane to go deaf in her right ear. Loki squinted his eyes shut, feeling tears well up in the corners. He tried to scramble out of Jane’s hold, but she held him as tight as she could until the nurse was done. Darcy got up and ran to help. “Ahhh! Please, let me go! It hurts! It hurts!”

“There you go,” said the nurse, giving Loki’s arm a rub. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Jane and Darcy let Loki go and he quickly backed away, clutching his arm and rubbing it. He turned to the nurse, glaring at the needle she still held.

“Not so bad?! It HURT!” he seethed. “What kind of place is this? I thought you were supposed to make people well, not hurt them more!”

The nurse’s smile dropped and she turned an annoyed look to Jane and Darcy, before walking out of the room without saying another word.

“Loki,” Jane said, pulling the blanket up to his chin, “Behave yourself.”

“I don’t see why I have to. They’re the ones being mean.”

Jane gave him a look.

“You won’t spank me while I’m sick,” he said.

“No, but that doesn’t mean you have to act like a brat,” she said firmly while shaking a finger at him. “I expect you to be good.”

“Besides,” Darcy put in, “you have to remember that the nurses wield needles around here. Make them mad enough and you might regret it.”

Loki looked from Darcy to Jane, his eyes dancing nervously. Jane smiled smugly.

“You betrayed me,” he said sulkily, still rubbing his arm and emitting a loud cough.

“I’m sorry, but I had to,” said Jane. “I didn’t want to see you hurt while she gave you that shot.”

“It still hurt!” he snapped.

“I meant, badly hurt.”

Loki yawned, his eyes beginning to close. “What’s wrong with me?”

“The sedative the nurse gave you is beginning to work.” Jane ran her hand through Loki’s hair. “It’ll help you sleep better. You need rest.”

“Will you be here when I wake up?” he asked innocently.

“Sure.” She smiled, lightly running her finger up and down his nose, making him smile and scrunch it up. Not more than a minute later he was fast asleep. Jane rewet the rag and put it on his forehead, and then adjusted the blanket, tucking it tighter around Loki’s body. After she was satisfied with her work, she sat back in a chair and made herself comfortable, or at least as comfortable as one can get in the chairs hospitals offer.

“You like him now, don’t you?” Darcy’s amused voice came at her from the other side of the bed. Jane sleepily looked across at her friend, almost forgetting the girl was even there since she had been so quiet. Only then did she recall her helping to hold Loki while the nurse gave him the shot.

“Why do you say that?” Jane yawned.

“Just the way you were mothering him just then.” Darcy’s lips turned into a smirk.

Jane blushed a little and shrugged. “Okay, fine. I’ll admit that he’s growing on me.” She waved her hand toward Loki. “I mean, look at him. He’s just…so helpless like this. You and Odin were right. He’s a child—a helpless little child who’s lost and scared and confused and wants to be loved by someone who genuinely cares about him.”

As if to back up Jane's words, Loki suddenly shifted in his sleep and put one of his thumbs in his mouth and began sucking on it. At first, Jane thought she was sleepier than she thought, which was understandable since she had been up practically all night. She closed her eyes and opened them again, leaning over to look closer. Her eyes studied the trickster a few moments, her mind taking awhile to register what she was seeing. She already knew he liked holding his cape like a security blanket, but…she didn’t know he had other secrets. It was certainly startling at first, seeing this grown man doing such an infantile action, but then she felt a smile form on her lips and something inside of her become all warm and fuzzy. He was so precious, she secretly admitted to herself. Then she wondered if it was wrong to feel that way about someone who had killed people. But then she had to remind herself that Loki had been controlled by the Chitauri. Her first instinct was to bring it to Darcy’s attention, but she stopped herself. Something about that felt wrong to her.

“Whelp, I think I’m going to head out and try to get some sleep in my own bed,” said Darcy, getting up and stretching. Jane quickly pulled the blanket around Loki’s face so her friend wouldn’t see him sucking his thumb. She cleared her throat.

“All right.”

“You staying here?”

“Yeah.” She nodded at Loki. “I told him I’d be here when he wakes up. I don’t think it would be good for me to leave him alone anyway. He seems calmer when I’m nearby.”

Darcy nodded that she understood. “Well, you want me to get you anything before I leave?—soda, sandwich, crackers, coffee, sanity?

“No, that’s fine. Since he’s sleeping now, I might make my way to the vending machines later. Thanks anyway.”

“Okie-Dokie.” Darcy walked to the door. “Let me know how everything is. I might pop by later on today.”

“Will do.”

Jane turned back to Loki after Darcy left. She gently pulled the blanket off his face and smiled when her eyes met the sleeping face of the trickster. His thumb was still stuck tightly in his mouth. She ran the back of her fingers over the side of his face and rubbed his cheek with her thumb.

“I’m going to go get a little something to eat, okay?” she whispered, continuing to stroke his cheek. “I’ll be back shortly.”

 

Loki woke up in a disoriented daze, everything seeming unfamiliar. He was momentarily confused as to why he wasn’t in his bedroom. Then it all came back to him in a flood and he groaned. He took his thumb out of his mouth and rolled his head to the other side. He still felt hot and he still had the chills. Coughing, he felt around beside him on the bed until his hand landed on something soft that wasn’t part of the blanket. He raised his head up enough so he could see what it was. Jane was seated in a chair, with her head resting on the bed next to him, asleep. Quickly, he removed his fingers from her hair, not wanting to wake her. Leaning back against the pillow, he sighed and peered around the small hospital room. The place was cold and dreary, the only signs of cheerfulness being the lines of morning sunlight that streamed in through the cracks of the closed blinds. A TV jutted out from the wall across from the bed. A small, cheaply made wardrobe hugged the wall beside it. A couple of hard chairs, a plush recliner, a night table, and a tray on wheels were the only other pieces of furniture the room had, besides the bed he was lying on. There were a few curious machines around the head of the bed that he wasn’t sure about. None of them seemed to be turned on at the current moment, so he figured he didn’t need to be worried about them.

Someone’s voice sounded loudly over a speaker outside of the room, and the sounds of footsteps and clattering went by out in the hall. He turned his head to look at the door, nervous that some nurse was going to come in and do something unspeakable to him. He rubbed at his arm, remembering the sharp, painful needle the last one stuck there, right before he blacked out. He wrinkled his nose and started coughing again. The smell of the place overpowered his nostrils and made him gag.

“Loki?” said Jane sleepily, yawning. “Are you awake?”

“I’m sorry,” he quietly said. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Jane smiled and gave his hand a light squeeze. “That’s okay. Do you feel better after sleeping?”

“I guess,” he answered. “I’m still hot and cold.”

“You’ll be like that until your fever breaks.” She stood up and pulled the blankets tighter around him.

“I’m thirsty,” he said.

“I’ve got some water right here.” Jane reached over and picked up the plastic pitcher of ice water from the tray and poured some out in a cup and handed it to Loki. She helped to hold the cup steady while he drained all of its contents.

“Better?”

Loki nodded.

The room’s door swinging open made them turn and look in that direction. Loki slunk lower under the covers when he saw a nurse step in. She was carrying a thermometer and a cloth in her hands. She said a low ‘hi’ to Jane and quietly walked over to the bed. Immediately Loki placed his hands under his bottom and opened his mouth. Not giving his actions any thought, the nurse stuck the thermometer in his mouth and left it there while she took the old cloth off his forehead and put the fresh one on. Loki was grateful for it, basking in the coolness that radiated over his brow. After a few minutes, the nurse took the thermometer out and looked at it. She pulled out a pad from one of the pockets of her coat and scribbled something on it. Then she turned and left.

Loki released the breath he’d been holding, relieved that the nurse didn't stick the thermometer up his rear like the last time.

“She had you worried, didn’t she?” Jane said with a chuckle, noting the trickster’s expression.

“From now on, she can stick that thing in my mouth all she wants,” Loki said. “I’m not going to stop her.”

Smiling, Jane sat down in her chair again and leaned her arms forward on the bed. She and Loki began to talk, Loki asking questions about things in the room. Jane explained everything to him, trying to word it in such a way that it wouldn’t frighten the trickster. Their conversation soon led to other topics, which gave Jane the opportunity to get Loki’s mind off everything else so he could relax.


	13. Magic Tricks

Days passed and Loki started showing signs of getting better, much to the relief of Jane and Darcy as well as the entire medical staff. Ever since the first night Loki was checked into the hospital, there seemed to be an underlying war about to erupt between him and the nurses. It didn’t matter what the subject was. Loki refused to comply every time a nurse came into his room to do something. The only thing he didn’t fight against was when it came time to take his temperature. Learning that lesson the hard way the first night, Loki allowed the nurse to stick the thermometer in his mouth each time without a fuss. However, giving him sleeping medication was an entirely different story. The nurses had to switch to giving him pills since Loki would not let any of them come near him with a needle again. Although the first night he was given pills the nurse and Jane both had to fight to get them down him. Even with Jane’s given strength and Loki’s mortal state, trying to pry the trickster’s mouth open and poke a pill down him was no easy task. They eventually had to result to threatening to give him another shot if he didn’t take them. The choice was his to make, the nurse had said. Loki quickly chose the pills.

Another problem that quickly arose was Loki’s complaints about the hospital’s food. He refused to eat most of it, saying it looked and smelt horrible. He was especially leery of the green Jell-O, which he swore had to be some type of poison. Since Loki needed to eat to build up his strength, the nurses and the doctor agreed to let Jane and Darcy bring in outside food for him—anything, just so long as he ate something.

Little by little Loki’s fever started coming down, giving him some much-needed relief. He soon got to the point where he could sleep normally again without having to rely on sleep meds. And he started feeling well enough to get up and move around the room for more than just to use the bathroom and take quick showers. Each afternoon, after lunch, he would settle himself in the big padded, leather recliner and look out the window for awhile. Jane tried to spend as much of her time with him as she could and tried being there for him at all hours. It became a regular habit for Jane to bring some sort of game for them to play together, like cards, mancala, chess, or checkers. Some of the days, when she absolutely had to do work, she was late getting to the hospital. On these days, Darcy volunteered to fill in for her until she arrived, which helped a lot, both on Jane and Loki’s part. Jane didn’t like the thought of Loki being alone at the hospital. Not only because she knew that Loki wasn’t exactly stable as far as his posttraumatic stress went, but also because she didn’t trust him to remain in his room. Since Loki had in his mind that he was going to escape to find the scepter, this would be a golden opportunity for him to do just that. Besides, a bored trickster is never a good thing. She didn’t want another number-switching incident happening. That would be really bad in a hospital.

“Hey, Loki, how you doing?” said Jane cheerily one day as she closed the door and walked over to Loki. The trickster was up, sitting cross-legged in the recliner by the window. He turned his gaze to her and smiled weakly. He looked a lot better, she thought. At least the rash wasn’t as visible and his nose wasn’t runny anymore. She reached out and ruffled his hair, patting his shoulder.

“Okay, I guess,” he sullenly answered, roughly shuffling the deck of playing cards in his hands. “I would be better if I could go home. I’m tired of this miserable place. I don’t like being confined.”

Jane pulled a chair up and sat down beside him, putting the bag she held down on the floor. “Aw, I know. It won’t be long.”

“I don’t understand how you mortals can live this way.”

“You get used to it.”

Just then, a loud crash and clatter were heard outside in the hall as a gurney was quickly rushed by. Loki closed his eyes and sighed.

“This place is so noisy! I haven’t been able to sleep through the entire night for it all. Every time I drift off to sleep, some loud noise comes and startles me awake.” He ran his hand through his hair, mussing it up.

“You could always ask the nurse to give you something to help you sleep.”

“NO!” Loki shouted. He hugged himself, covering his arms with his hands. He visibly shuddered. “No more of that. No more darts and no more pills.”

A smirk lifted the corner of Jane’s mouth.

“Oh! I have something for you.” Jane picked up the bag she brought. She reached in and pulled out a sketch pad and some pencils and pens and handed them to Loki. He eagerly accepted them. “I noticed the one you have at the apartment is almost used up so I bought you a new one so you’d have plenty of blank paper to fill up here.”

“Thank you,” he said.

“I also got you something else.” Jane pulled out a plush floppy green dog and handed it to the trickster. Loki stared at it, hesitant to take it. She chuckled at his expression. “Go on, it won’t bite.”

Loki looked at her then slowly took the toy from her hand. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but he wasn’t exactly sure what to do with it. Oh, he knew what it was, but he couldn’t imagine what had propelled Jane to get it for him.

“It’s a child’s plaything,” he said. “Whatever would I want this for?”

Jane laughed. “It doesn’t have to be just for kids. Adults like them too. I just thought it would cheer you up a little. Sometimes it helps to look at something like this when you’re sick and in the hospital.”

A lopsided smile formed on his face as he looked at the fluffy dog in his hand. Despite himself, he squeezed the toy and felt and fingered the softness of the material.

“Thanks,” he softly said, putting the dog in his lap. He would never admit it out loud, but he actually liked it. He especially liked the shade of green it was. He eyed Jane as she crumpled the bag up and put it back on the floor.

“So, what do you want to do today?” she asked.

“Want to see a card trick?” said Loki, his eyes showing a faint hint of a sparkle.

“Sure!” said Jane.

Loki beamed excitedly and began shuffling his cards. “I’ll need a flat surface.”

Jane got up, walked over, and pulled the hospital tray over to where they were sitting, adjusting it to the right height. “Will this do?”

“Perfect,” he said, putting the deck of cards on it and laying out six select cards face up. “Now, I want you to think about one of these cards.”

Jane studied the cards for a minute then looked up at Loki and nodded. Loki gathered up the cards and picked up the deck and put them all together again with a few fancy moves of his hands, placing them down on the tray between them.

“Tell me which card you thought of,” he said.

“Jack of Diamonds.”

Loki began spelling out Jane’s choice of card with each card he took off the deck. When he got to the last letter, he pulled off the Jack of Diamonds and handed it over to Jane, smiling.

“That’s amazing,” she said, taking the card. “How did you do that?”

“Magic,” he simply said. “A magician never reveals his secrets.”

“Right; I forgot.”

“Of course, this is Midgard’s idea of magic—simple, primitive, not magic at all, really.” He made the whole deck perfectly stand on its side on his fingers. “A little bit of prestidigitation and you mortals think you’ve seen something extraordinary. If I still had my real magic I would give you something worth marveling over. I could turn every one of these cards into snakes if I wanted to.”

“Really?”

“Yep.” Loki looked up at her, a twinkle of mischief in his green eyes. “I used to turn the kitchen utensils into snakes all the time back on Asgard, for a bit of fun. You should have seen the cooks and the kitchen and scullery maids scream.”

Loki and Jane laughed. Loki’s laugh was so genuine, she thought. No hint of malice or darkness or hurt—just a young boy laughing at remembering a good memory. She had to wonder…Was this the way he used to be before he turned?—a carefree, happy, mischievous, fun-loving boy?

“When you get your magic back, will you come by and show me some of your tricks?” said Jane.

Loki studied her face, quite taken back at her request. “You want to see my tricks?” He said it in such a way that Jane was almost sure he had never been asked to perform his tricks before. “You really want to see my tricks?”

“Of course,” she replied with a bit of a smile. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“No one’s ever wanted me to do them on purpose.” He plopped the plush dog onto the tray and picked at the fur. “Most people see it as a nuisance and childish. Well, except for Mother. But there was a time or two when even she got annoyed at me. A trickster doesn’t fit in with normal people. I’m… different.”

“But that’s what makes you so special,” said Jane softly. “The world—this universe—needs people like you to remind all of us that life shouldn’t be lived so seriously—that it’s okay to have fun, to be a child at heart, to change and shake up things. As long as it isn’t harmful and malicious, of course. Sometimes I feel like I need to be reminded of it on occasion. Having you around has helped bring that to my attention within the past several weeks.”

Loki blinked at her words. He tilted his head to the side, which caused Jane to laugh at his expression.

“I know you’ve been through a lot and it’s understandable why you’re mad at the world. I’ve had my moments where I’ve felt like destroying something, too. But, life goes on. Sooner or later you have to wake up and move on. You’re a special person, Loki, and you’re important. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.” Jane stretched out her hand and brushed a lock of his hair out of his face. “Just keep telling yourself that. Stop lying to yourself and stop entertaining dark thoughts. You’re doing more harm to yourself than you realize.”

Loki was silent as he thought about what she said. No one had ever told him he was special or that he was important, except for maybe Frigga.

“You say that I’m important and special, even after I’ve done such awful things?”

“Sure.” Jane shrugged. “Loki, no one’s perfect. We all make mistakes and we all make bad choices sometimes. I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t have regrets of some sort. But that doesn’t mean we’re any less special or important in this life. You’re an individual that has a purpose, regardless if you want to accept it or not. You have a purpose, Loki. You’re a trickster. Part of a trickster’s purpose is to bring about playfulness and make people laugh. If you ask me, that’s one of the most important purposes there is because the world can always use more of that. Don’t darken your purpose by dwelling on self-pity. Don’t bother yourself with Odin either. There will always be people who will try to dampen your spirits. You might as well get used to it. People like that haven’t learned how to have fun, or they don’t know how to because they don’t understand it. So instead they see it as being childish and stupid.”

Loki’s eyes watered, but he was determined not to cry. He wanted to say something, but he didn’t know what. So he just nodded.

Jane picked up the dog and playfully rubbed it on Loki’s face, causing him to giggle and take it from her hand. He tossed it at her, hitting her in the face. She tossed it back at him. The dog was thrown back and forth in this way several times until it became a game that sent both of them laughing. It was during this time that Darcy entered the room.

“Whoa!” she said, stepping out of the way of Jane and dodging the dog at the same time. “What’s going on here? Is this ‘Toss the Dog’ day or something?”

Loki and Jane were laughing so hard they couldn’t answer. Darcy soon joined in, the laughter being contagious. She didn’t know what she was laughing at, but she had no other choice but to give in. It was okay since Jane and Loki had no idea what they were laughing at either. Loki felt freer that afternoon than he had felt in a long time. Jane’s words seemed to open up something inside of him that he had been keeping locked away for so long, and he felt more like his old self again—that innocent, fun-loving trickster that brought so much mirth and joy to the halls of Asgard so many years ago, before the malice and darkness took control. He wasn’t sure what to think of it, or whether or not he liked it.


	14. Evil Comes in the Form of a Needle

Within a week and a half, Loki completely recovered from the measles. But there was no talk of releasing him. Jane eventually made inquiries as to when it was safe to take him home, only to get unnerving news in return. She wasn’t sure how she was going to break it to Loki, but she would have to if he was to ever leave. Might as well approach it head on and get it over with, she thought.

Jane pushed the door open and slowly walked into the hospital room. Loki was sitting in the recliner, reading a book. He looked up when he heard her enter.

“Hey, Loki,” she greeted with a smile.

“Did you speak to the doctor?” he asked.

“Yeah, I did.”

“Well?”

She hesitated, walking over to sit in a chair. “Well…he said you can’t leave just yet.”

“What do you mean I can’t leave?” said Loki, getting up from his chair. “I’m well. I don’t have the measles anymore.”

“The doctor says he won’t release you until…” Jane’s voice trailed off.

“Until what?”

“Until you’ve had your first two series of vaccinations.”

“What’s that?”

“You don’t know?”

Loki shook his head, not fully understanding.

“Shots.”

Loki’s eyes grew wide. “You mean those darts they stick in your arm?”

Jane nodded. 

“NO!” Loki shouted, backing up against the chair. He lost his balance and sat down hard in the seat.

“Loki…”

He shook his head. “No! It hurts.”

“Loki, you’ll get to go home after it.”

He shook his head again. “No. I want to go home, but I don’t want the darts.”

“They’re needles, not darts.”

“I don’t care what they’re called. They hurt!”

“Like it or not, you’re going to get them. The doctor said you’re scheduled to have them tomorrow afternoon. And he also said that next week you’re scheduled to have the last two series—four series of shots in all. Seems a bit too much to me, but I guess they know what they’re doing.”

A look of panic washed over Loki’s face, what little color he had drained out of it. His eyes nervously scanned the room as if he was trying to find some way of escape.

“Don’t even think about it,” said Jane with a sigh. “You try anything and I’ll spank you. And I don’t think you want me doing that right here.”

“You wouldn’t.”

Jane gave him a warning glare. “You aren’t sick anymore. Even though you’re still in the hospital, things are pretty much back to normal. So unless you want to explain to a nurse why your bottom is red, I suggest you watch what you do.”

Loki’s cheeks flushed and he looked down at the floor. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“You’re going to get those shots tomorrow so you can go home. I don’t want to hear another word about it. This hospital bill is already more than I can probably afford to pay.”

Loki lifted his thumb to his mouth and chewed at his fingernail. He turned to look out the window.

“You okay?” Jane asked, concerned.

“Yes,” he lied. A knot was forming in his stomach and he suddenly felt ill again. He absently rubbed at his arm where the nurse had given him the last shot, remembering the pain. A wave of nausea hit him. If only he had his armor, he thought. But it was back at Jane’s apartment.

Loki jumped when Jane touched his arm.

“Hey, you’re crying,” she said. Loki hadn’t noticed the streaks of tears running down his cheeks until she pointed them out. He lifted his arm to wipe them away on his sleeve.

“It’s nothing,” he said, turning away.

“Loki…” Jane gently squeezed his arm. “It’s okay to be afraid.”

“I’m not afraid,” he said.

“All of this is new to you, so you have every right to be afraid,” she continued. “But the shots will protect you from earth diseases while you’re here. Your body is mortal now and hasn’t built up an immunity yet. That’s why you got the measles so fast.”

Loki turned around, tears still lingering in his eyes. “How many will I have to have?”

“I…I don’t know, Loki,” Jane said hesitantly, afraid she was going to say something that would throw him into a panic. “Four series is a lot of them.”

“Will they hurt like the other one?”

Jane’s heart fell a little. He sounded like a little toddler. She chewed her lip a moment before turning her eyes up to look at his face.

“Yeah, they will. I won’t lie.”

Loki turned to stare out the window again, playing with his sleeves.

“You want me to stay with you tonight?” Jane asked, patting Loki’s back and rubbing circles into it.

He silently nodded, sniffling.

 

The next day, Loki nervously paced the floor of his hospital room until Jane grabbed hold of him and forced him to sit down.

“You’re going to wear a groove in the floor if you keep doing that,” she said, not looking up from the science magazine in her hand. “Relax, and stop chewing your nails.” Jane gently pulled Loki’s hand away from his mouth.

“How can I relax??” Loki said, the words coming out sounding like a cross between a squeak and a sob. “How can anyone relax when they know that...that nurses are going to come in and stick darts in their arm any moment?” A cart carrying food trays rattled outside the door and Loki nearly flew off his chair. Jane reached out and put her arm around his shoulders.

The dreaded moment finally arrived when a nurse opened the door and stepped in. Loki felt his heart drop down to the soles of his feet and a cold sweat form on his skin.

“Sorry, I’m late. Been a busy morning,” the nurse said, walking to the middle of the room. “If you can, just come over her and sit on the bed.”

Loki refused to obey, remaining seated in his chair beside Jane. Jane gave him a nudge forward. He shook his head and remained seated.

“Loki, do as the nurse says,” she whispered. Loki shook his head again. His face was flushed and looked like he was struggling to hold in the tears that were fast coming. If anything, he was holding them in to keep his dignity. “Come on, I’ll go with you.”

Even when Jane got up and started walking, Loki refused to follow. Jane turned a nervous smile to the nurse then walked over to Loki again. “Loki, come on,” she said a little sterner, taking him by the arm and pulling. Loki grabbed onto the seat of the chair and pulled it along with him. She sighed, rolling her eyes up at the ceiling.

She bent over and whispered in his ear, “Want me to spank you here in front of the nurse?”

Loki frantically shook his head, whimpering.

“Then get up.” She gave the side of his thigh a firm pat as a warning. She felt like she was dealing with a three-year-old.

Finally, Loki obeyed and allowed Jane to pull him over to the bed where he inched his way onto it, carefully eyeing the nurse out of the corners of his eyes.

“Sorry about that,” Jane said to the nurse.

“That’s quite all right. I have a nephew that’s the same way. But then again, he’s five.” The nurse pulled a syringe out of the pocket of her coat and uncapped it.

When his eyes landed on the needle, Loki firmly grasped the edge of the bed and squeezed until his knuckles turned white.

“It’s okay.” The nurse smiled, taking Loki’s arm and pulling up the sleeve of his T-shirt. “I’m just gonna give you some shots. It’ll all be over in a few minutes.”

“No you aren’t,” said Loki, yanking his arm out of the nurse’s hand and pulling away from her.

“Loki…” said Jane, her tone having a hint of warning to it. He turned to her then back at the nurse, whimpering as she grabbed hold of his shirt sleeve again and began rolling it up.

Loki suddenly pushed the nurse’s hand away and rolled off the bed. Before he could make it to the door, Jane grabbed him by his shirt and the waistband of his jeans and pulled him back.

“No, no! Let go!” he cried, trying to wriggle out of Jane’s hold. He eyed the needle. “I don’t want that thing stuck in me.”

“Loki, calm down. Just let her give you the shots and we can all go home.”

“NO!”

“Do you want to stay in the hospital?”

“I don’t care if I stay here forever; she’s not going to stick those darts in me.” Loki hugged himself, shielding his arms with his hands so the nurse couldn’t get to them.

“Come on, act your age,” Jane grunted, trying to drag Loki to the bed, her Odin strength coming in handy once again.

“Mister, we can do this the easy way or we can do this the unpleasant way,” said the nurse. “And I don’t think you want to go the unpleasant route.”

Loki glared at her. “Stay away from me!” he seethed.

The nurse shrugged. “All right, I guess we’ll have to go the unpleasant route. Mainly because I don’t have all day to stand here and fight with you.”

The nurse walked out of the room.

“Now, you see what you’ve done?” said Jane, giving his backside a hard smack. She doubted that he felt it through his jeans, but at least it made him jump and crawl back onto the bed. “You’ll probably regret this.”

Loki sat huddled up, his knees to his chest, scowling.

“You can look grumpy all you want, but you’re not getting out of here until you get those shots. And I have a feeling you’re going to wish you had acted better.”

Ten minutes passed and the nurse returned. She brought two other female nurses, each one carrying a tray full of syringes. Behind them came at least four male nurses. Loki’s eyes grew huge and he scrambled to the farthest side of the bed, trying to get as far away as he possibly could without tumbling off backward. He swallowed hard, his eyes locking onto the trays and the weapons of doom they carried.

“Ma’am,” one of the nurses turned to Jane. “Please wait outside until we’re done.”

“Uh…Is it okay if I stay here with him?” she asked, her eyes turning to Loki.

The nurse shook his head. “Please, wait outside.”

“Jane!” Loki called, watching as the male nurses gathered around the bed and grabbed hold of his arms. “Jane, help!”

It was too late, though. Jane had been pushed outside and the door closed. Loki panicked when he realized he was alone with these humans in white coats. He began struggling and kicking, trying to break free of the nurses that had hold of him. It was hard for him to even think. The room was full of noise as the nurses busied themselves with preparing the syringes and moving equipment out of the way so they would have more room to work within.

“Wha-what are you going to do to me?” he asked with a whimper, swallowing. But he felt like his question was lost in the sea of noise.

“It’s okay. Just keep calm. This is for your own safety,” one of the nurses said. They quickly turned him over on his stomach and fastened straps around the upper part of his body, pinning his arms to his sides. The action alone caused fear to grip him to the point of hyperventilating and feeling nauseous. He didn’t like being restrained. He hated it more than being confined within a small space. The Chitauri had restrained him a lot. Bad memories flashed through his mind as a strap was also applied to his kicking legs and he felt close to going insane. 

“Please don’t do this. I don’t like being restrained,” he said, but no one heard him. He jerked a leg and an arm, only to find himself pinned in place to the bed. He lifted his head out of the pillow and twisted around to look over his shoulder. One of the female nurses was standing close by the bed, holding one of the trays of syringes in her hands.

Loki’s eyes nervously moved around, trying to take in all that was happening as the male nurses adjusted his restraints and made sure he couldn’t move. His breathing quickened and his heart felt like it would burst through his chest as he was prepared for whatever horrors these nurses were going to lavish on him.

Loki jumped at the sudden feeling of his shirt being pulled up to the small of his back and strange fingers inserted into the waistband of his jeans and feeling them being pulled down to his knees, his boxers pulled down after them. Cold air met his bared backside and caused him to shiver. Fear washed over him. His first thoughts were that he was going to be spanked for acting up. They did that in hospitals too? But why would they have to strap him down?

Suddenly he was very mindful of the fact that he was fully exposed in front of a group of strangers. His cheeks turned red and he attempted to cover himself with his legs but forgot they had been restrained. It was then that he felt very vulnerable and it scared him more than he liked to have admitted.

“Please untie me. It’s most uncomfortable,” Loki sniveled. “I’m sorry for acting up. I’ll be good.” He cringed inside at how childish he sounded to himself, but he couldn’t help it. He was doing all he could to keep from panicking even more. Besides, maybe his innocent look would get him out of this mess. At that thought, he put on his puppy face and turned to look up at the nurse standing beside him, the one holding the tray. She smiled down at him and shook her head before turning to address the nurse standing next to her. She picked up a syringe off her tray and handed it to the other nurse. Loki’s eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat as he eyed the needle being passed from nurse to nurse. Something told him right then that this situation was about to get very, very ugly.

“Wh-wha-what are you going to do?” He began struggling against his restraints. “Where is that going to go?”

With his backside being bare, there was a faint voice in the back of his mind that told him whereabouts it was going, but he wanted to convince himself it wasn’t true. No way were they going to stick that… _thing_ …in his rear. Where they? They only stuck them in the arms, right? A sob bubbled up in his throat and he whimpered and whined. He struggled with the restraints again, hoping he could rip them off. Why did everything have to be applied to the rear???

“Y-you aren’t serious about this, are you?” he asked, his voice about to crack. No one would answer his questions and it made him that much more nervous and terrified. He strained to see over his shoulder, but the nurse beside him gently pushed his head back down and patted his back.

“It’ll be okay; you won’t feel a thing,” she told him. He hated not being able to see what was going on. He felt something cold and wet quickly being swiped over his bottom. He blushed at the humiliating action. Was that it? He tried looking over his shoulder again, but the nurse put her hand on the back of his neck and held him still.

“I’m a prince!—a god! You can’t do this to me!” Loki shouted, his voice watery. “Please don’t.”

Suddenly, a sharp, piercing sting shot through the right side of his rear, knocking the breath out of him. It felt like he had been stung by the world’s largest bee. This was worse than getting it in the arm! His eyes widened and he began to struggle again, but his actions were quickly brought under control as several nurses roughly grabbed hold of him and held him in place so he couldn’t move.

“OW!” he shouted, struggling against the nurses’ hold. He hissed through his teeth and tears started to form at the corners of his eyes. “Ow, ow, ow, owwwwwwww!”

He wouldn’t feel a thing, huh? The nurse was a bigger liar than he was! He was almost impressed…almost. Under different circumstances, he would have been.

Just when he thought everything was over, another sharp sting like the first one was applied not far from the first one, causing Loki to suck in his breath and whimper. He clenched the bed sheets in his fingers and fought to bite back another scream.

“Worse than a spanking,” he sobbed. “Much worse. Whatever I’ve done to offend you mortals, I’m sorry! I’m truly sorry!”

Another needle painfully landed in his left cheek and he screamed, feeling sure the nurses were using his backside as a dartboard. By now tears were flowing out of his eyes and he didn’t care. The nurse beside him patted his back, but it didn’t help make him feel any better.

“Yaaaah!!!”

Pain came again to his left cheek. If he hadn’t been strapped down, he would have come out of the bed. How many more were they going to stick in him??? He gasped at the burning sting that was quickly building in his cheeks. His breathing was now coming in hitched sobs as he fought to regain his breath.

“YOU’RE ALL EVIL!” Loki screamed out in a hoarse sob, choking. As if in reply, another needle was thrust into his bottom, making Loki let out an undignified squeal that sounded more like a trapped animal.

When the nurses were finally done, someone gently pulled Loki’s pants back in place and the restraints were taken off him. He didn’t bother to move, though. Instead, he continued to lie there, weeping into his pillow and feeling sick to his stomach. He hoped he wouldn’t throw up. He wasn’t sure how to react to this. The situation both mortified and shamed him greatly. Thinking back on the past few minutes made his face turn a deeper red than it already was. Especially when the final needle inserted into his very sensitive backside had made him involuntarily scream out like he had been stabbed by a hot sword. One of the nurses had to lie across his back to keep him held down.

Loki moved his rear a little bit and immediately regretted doing so. He winced. Slowly, he moved his hands back and felt of the one big massive sore that was his bottom…or it used to be his bottom, anyway, before the evil mortals in white coats used it as a pin cushion. He was convinced that there wasn’t an area of it that hadn’t been stuck.

“My poor rear…” he sniveled to himself. “I’ll never be able to sit again.” Fresh tears spilled down his cheeks and he sniffled, wincing as he gently rubbed the sore areas. Stinging pain prickled over his cheeks at every rub. He lifted his hands and slowly slid them down into his pants and felt of the Band-Aids that were crisscrossed on both sides of his poor bottom. Moaning, he let his head fall back into the pillow and sniffed more tears away. His nose was all snotty and his hair was stuck to his face, but he didn’t care.

A knock on the room’s doorframe caused him to quickly pull his hands out of his pants and look over that way. He scowled when his eyes landed on Jane. She came into the room and closed the door. This was all her fault, he thought. She had abandoned and left him alone with those evil people.

“How are you doing?” she softly asked. How was he doing??? She had a lot of nerve to stand there and ask him how he was doing after having his tail stuck numerous times with sharp darts. He lifted himself up to rest on one arm, gasping and uttering a cry when he moved his rear wrong. Immediately his angry scowl melted into sniveling.

“How do you think I’m doing?!” he snapped at her. Jane suppressed a smile. Loki continued to glare up at her.

“I warned that you would regret acting up,” she said, shaking her head.

“Why didn’t you tell me they give shots back there?” He nodded to his backside. “I thought they just gave them in the arms.”

“They gave them to you back there?” Jane pointed at Loki’s bottom. “You poor baby. No wonder I heard you screaming.”

“Y-you heard me screaming?”

“I think the whole hospital did,” Jane said with a sheepish smile. Loki blushed. “Here, let me take a look. Maybe there’s something I can do to make you feel better.”

“Don’t touch it!” Loki cried, moving his rear out of Jane’s reach. The sudden action caused him to cry again at the sharp pain that went through it. Loki’s nostrils flared in anger. He could tell that Jane was trying to hide her amusement over everything.

“It’s not funny!” he sniveled.

“I’m not laughing.”

“No, but I can tell you’re amused by this.”

“Okay, maybe I am a little, but I don’t mean anything by it.” 

Loki gave her the innocent eyes, his lower lip quivering. “I’ll never sit down again.” He sniffed.

“Awwww.” Jane ran her hand gently over Loki’s head, smoothing down his messy curls. By now, all of them were sticking up in every direction like they had been hit with a hundred volts of static. Having enough, Loki pulled away from her.

“Go away,” he mumbled. He had wanted it to come out sounding angry and menacing like he was feeling, but it, instead, only came out sounding watery and miserable to match how he looked. He turned to face the opposite direction so he wouldn’t have to see Jane.

“Aw, come on. Why are you mad at me? I’m not the one who stuck your butt.”

“You abandoned me!”

“I didn’t want to,” Jane countered. “The nurses forced me out of the room. I would have stayed here with you if it hadn’t been for that.”

Loki looked over at her, contemplating her words. His face relaxed somewhat, although it still displayed that he was in a considerable amount of pain.

“I just want to go home,” he sniveled, more tears spilling down his cheeks. Jane wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big hug.

“We can go home anytime you wish.”

“I wish to go now.”

“Can you stand up?” she asked, clutching his arm. Loki moved his legs a little.

“Ow! Ow, ow…” he hissed, easing himself off the bed and straightening up. He had a hard time standing, and had an even harder time walking. He took a few steps forward and immediately wished he was laying back on the bed on his stomach. He hissed out his discomfort and squeezed his eyes shut, stopping to place a hand behind him. 

“It’s okay. Just take it easy.” Jane said in a soothing tone, rubbing his lower back. She kept one hand on his arm to keep him steady. “Uh…You might want to zip up your pants.” She pointed at his fly standing wide open. Loki looked down and blushed. He shakily reached to pull his jeans up and zip and snap them closed. He jerked at the action; his hands flying back to clutch his sore cheeks. Maybe pulling his pants up further hadn’t been such a good idea after all. Maybe he should have just let the world see his underwear.

“Come on, you can do it.” Jane leaned against his arm. “All of your stuff is already out in the car, so all we have to do is get you signed out of here.”

Loki stiffly waddled along beside Jane as they made their way out of the room and to the elevator.


	15. A Visit from Mother

The ride home from the hospital proved even more miserable for the trickster. Even with the car’s plush seats, sitting down in them was out of the question so he had to settle instead for lying on his stomach across the backseats. Jane drove as carefully as she could since he wasn’t able to use a seatbelt.

That night, Loki lay on his stomach in bed, nestled snuggly under the covers. He hugged tightly to the little plush dog Jane had given him and the corner of his cape, his thumb stuck in his mouth. After everything that happened, it felt good to be back in his own bed, although he still thought he could hear hospital noises. Not to mention he felt like he reeked of hospital smell. He had taken a very painful shower before going to bed, but he still smelt like hospital. He sniffed at the plush dog in his arms and wrinkled his nose. It smelt like hospital too. He threw it onto the floor and pulled his cape closer to his face. At this point, he was glad he hadn’t taken his cape with him.

Loki slipped in and out of sleep for a few hours until he started getting a crick in his neck. He sighed, moved his head to the opposite side, and struggled to get comfortable. He wanted to lose himself in sleep, but a certain part of his body kept waking him up to reality. His bottom was so sore. Every move he made awakened a new wave of pain that made tears crop at the corners of his eyes. Earlier, he had never been more thankful that he was able to pee standing up.

He lay there, thinking about everything that had happened up to that point. A shudder coursed through his body at remembering events at the hospital. He never, ever wanted to go back to that awful place. Then he was reminded that he still had two more series of shots to go through next week. Fear gripped him and he snuggled deeper into his pillow. There was no way he’d be able to go through more of that. He couldn’t. He would have to get away somehow. Maybe some night after Jane fell asleep he could sneak out of the apartment. Something inside him screamed at him that it was a stupid thing to do. What if Jane caught him? She’d certainly spank him with the ruler like she promised. A twinge of pain hit his rear. He wasn’t sure if it was from the injections or if it was remembered pain from the spankings. He shuddered again. Surely she wouldn’t spank him while his bottom was already sore from the shots. She said herself that she wasn’t a cruel person.

While thinking over his plans, Loki’s mind became foggy and he drifted off into a half-asleep, half-awake state. It wasn’t until he felt a gentle hand on his hair that he startled awake. He looked around the dark room until he found his bearings again. It had been a dream, he thought. No, it hadn’t been a dream. He was suddenly aware that someone was in the room with him, seated on the side of the bed. The gentle hand he had felt was still there on his head, slowly going down his back. Jane? No, it wasn’t Jane.

“Mama?” he breathed in a small voice. There was movement and the lamp on the night table came on, illuminating the smiling face of Frigga. She slowly pulled her hand away from the lamp, her caring eyes looking deep into Loki’s face.

“Hello, Loki,” she said in a soft whisper.

For a brief moment, Loki forgot everything else. Frigga opened her arms, inviting Loki into a hug.

“My baby,” she said, her voice still low. Loki could see that she had tears in her eyes. He quickly threw off the covers and scrambled to be at her side, never minding the pain in his bottom. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder.

“Oh, Mother,” he said, his voice muffled in her dress. “What are you doing here?”

“After Odin finally told me you were alive, I just had to see you.” She hugged Loki tight in her arms and caressed him, kissing and stroking his head. “I had to see my baby boy again. I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too, Mama,” Loki nuzzled Frigga.

“I thought you were dead.” A few tears fell down Frigga’s cheek and she lifted a hand to wipe them away. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again.” She gave his bottom a firm swat, which sent the trickster into agonized pain.

“Owwwwww! Mama!” he gasped and cringed, arching his back.

Frigga blinked in surprise. “What’s wrong? I didn’t swat you that hard.”

“My bottom is sore!” Loki hissed out between his teeth. “The mortals…they stuck darts in me. They hurt me, Mama!” He sniveled and made a rather large show of it like he was dying.

“Darts?” Frigga was both confused and alarmed. Her protective motherly instincts kicked in. If these mortals were hurting and abusing her baby, they would feel her wrath. She quickly turned Loki over and yanked his pants down to examine the injection sites.

“They call them va-vaccinations,” Loki breathed out. “They say it’s to keep me from getting sick while I’m here on Midgard.”

A caring and an amused smile creased Frigga’s lips. She had heard about vaccinations before, though she hadn’t fully understood at the time what all was involved aside from the humans using needles to do it with.

“They’re not darts, Loki,” she corrected, easing Loki’s pants back up and gently running her hand over his injured cheeks. “They’re needles.”

Loki frowned, simply not caring. “So Jane told me. Regardless of what they’re called, it’s evil. It’s pure evil! And they’re going to do it to me again next week! Please, take me back to Asgard. I don’t want to be in this horrible place anymore!”

“You know I can’t do that. Odin has banished you here to teach you a lesson. I’m not saying that I approve of his methods, but they are as they are. I can’t interfere.”

“Whatever that lesson is, I’ve learned it!” Loki’s eyes watered. Despite Loki being an adult, Frigga cradled him in her arms as if he were still that newborn babe Odin brought to her when he was first found, lifting him up to plant kisses on his face and nuzzle him with her nose.

“Jane spanked me, too,” Loki continued with his sob story. “Twice!”

“Oh?” Frigga raised an eyebrow, knowing full well what Loki was doing.

“These mortals are insane! They seem to derive pleasure from hurting my backside. You can’t leave me here!” he whined.

“Did you deserve the spankings?”

“I—No! Of course not!”

Frigga raised both eyebrows at the reply. “I see. Then why did she spank you? I’m sure there must have been a good reason behind it. Jane doesn’t strike me as the type that would spank you for nothing.”

“She enjoys torturing me, I suppose.”

“Loki, if your backside wasn’t sore enough already, I would personally take you over my knee right now and make it sore.”

A worried look washed over the trickster’s face and he cowered into her arms, looking more like a five-year-old child than a thousand-year-old god. “Wh-why?”

“Because you’ve been lying to me, and you’re trying to use your silver tongue on me right this moment.” Frigga fixed a stern gaze on her son. Loki swallowed, his mouth working nervously. “As you probably already know, Heimdall has been keeping an eye on what goes on here and has been reporting back to Odin. Odin filled me in on some of it, which is partly what prompted me to come visit you. He told me he had to come down here and speak with Jane a few weeks ago. It was because you were giving her a hard time, lying to her, disobeying, and trying to manipulate her.” She smacked the back of his thighs, where he wasn’t sore. Loki whimpered and scowled. “You should be ashamed of yourself for such actions. Thor dropped you off here in order to help you, and this is how you repay that kindness? I don’t blame Jane for spanking you. As far as I’m concerned, you deserved each of those spankings. And I’m going to tell her myself that she’s free to do it ever how many times is necessary to keep you in line.”

“Mama,” Loki sniveled. “How could you? I thought you loved me.”

“I do love you, my son. I love you more than you know. That’s why I want you to learn from these hard lessons.” She kissed his forehead. “I would much rather you get a spanking than for you to face death.”

The bedroom door suddenly swung open. Frigga turned to see Jane standing in the doorway. Loki leaned his head back to look at her upside down.

“I thought I heard voices in here,” Jane said. “You…you must be…”

“Frigga.” The All-Mother smiled. “I just came by to see how Loki is doing.” She gathered Loki up in her arms again, to keep him from slipping off the bed. He yelped when his bottom touched the bed and Frigga eased him into a better position, giving his rear a gentle rub.

Jane smiled as she watched Loki snuggle up next to the All-Mother. At the same time, a twinge of jealousy surged up in her and she suppressed it. The feelings surprised her, but then again she silently admitted that she actually enjoyed mothering Loki.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Jane said, walking closer to the bed. “You’ve got…” She searched for the right words to use, “an interesting son.”

Frigga chuckled, looking down at Loki. “Yes, he is unique.”

“Not to mention cute.”

“Oh, yes, he is definitely cute.” Frigga beamed. “He’s always been that. And I think he’s gotten cuter since he’s grown older.”

“Motherrrrr,” Loki whined, blushing.

“It’s true.” Frigga smiled down at him. She gently grabbed hold of his nose and gave it a light, playful squeeze. He pushed her hand away. Grinning, Frigga turned her attention back to Jane, her voice lowered. “He’s also a huge baby, as you’ve probably noticed.”

“Mother!”

Jane laughed. “Oh, yes, I’ve noticed.”

“A very naughty baby,” Frigga corrected. “I understand that you’ve had to spank him a few times.”

Jane swallowed, not entirely sure where this conversation was leading. She didn’t like the thought of being in trouble over spanking an Asgardian prince. But then again, Odin had pretty much hinted at it, so she felt better knowing she had that to back up her side of the argument with.

“Yes, that’s correct.” Jane sat down next to the All-Mother.

“Mother, don’t,” Loki protested.

“Hush, my son.”

Jane wasn’t sure what was going on, but she continued to keep her attention on Frigga, speaking up before she had a chance to continue. “Listen, he deserved it. In fact, Odin even hinted at it.”

“Oh, I know,” said Frigga. “I’m not mad.”

Jane visibly relaxed. “Good, I thought for a moment that you were going to accuse me of hurting your baby.”

Loki shot her a glare. Frigga laughed.

“No, no, I completely approve of what you did.” Frigga adjusted Loki in her arms. “In fact, I give you my full permission to spank him ever how many times you need to. If he gives you any trouble at all, feel free to take him over your knee.”

“Mother, noooo,” Loki groaned. Frigga swatted his thigh.

“Um…thank you.” Jane wasn’t sure what to say. “Glad to know that.”

“I hope that from now on you won’t have to. Right?” Frigga looked down at Loki. He frowned up at her distastefully. “Am I right?”

Loki grumbled something under his breath.

“I’m sorry, what was that you said?” The All-Mother lowered her head.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said a little louder, sighing.

“Good.”

Frigga and Jane both knew Loki all too well to believe he would keep out of trouble, but at least Frigga felt that she had asserted her authority as his mother.

“If you have any trouble with him, outside of what you can handle, you just say the word and I’ll come down here and personally tan his hide myself,” said Frigga. Loki’s face turned a deep red. He was getting tired of them discussing the painful future of his rear.

“I’m pretty sure I can handle him. Odin gave me some of his strength when he visited, so I’ve been doing quite well on my own. But I’ll keep your offer in mind, just in case.”

Frigga nodded, looking down at Loki again. “I want you to keep that in mind, too.” Her voice had a hint of warning to it.

“Would you like some tea or coffee or something?” Jane said, clearing her throat. She wasn’t exactly sure what to offer the All-Mother.

“Thank you, but no. I probably need to be getting back to Asgard.” She patted Loki’s back and eased him up out of her arms. She kept her hands on him until he found a comfortable position on the bed beside her.

“Don’t go,” he said.

“I’m sorry, but I must. Your father will be worried about me if I stay gone for too long.” Frigga leaned over and kissed Loki’s cheek. “You be good for Jane.”

“Will you come back?” Loki asked, his eyes wide and innocent.

Frigga smiled and gave him another kiss. “I think that can be arranged. But I expect you to behave. I don’t want to return and hear that you’ve been a bad boy again.”

Loki wanted to comment on that, but he thought better of it and held his tongue. He felt his bottom was in no condition to make Frigga mad. Even though he knew she wasn’t that cruel, he still didn’t want to press his luck.

“Goodbye, Loki. I love you. Don’t you ever forget that.” With one last kiss applied to Loki’s forehead, Frigga got up from the bed and walked to the door. She turned to Jane. “Goodbye, my dear. Be sure to take good care of him for me.”

“I will.” Jane smiled. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Nice meeting you, too.”

With that, Frigga disappeared down the hallway, literally. When Jane got up and looked, the All-Mother was nowhere to be found.


	16. Planning an Escape

The next morning, Loki stood in front of the full-length mirror that hung on the inside of his closet door. He looked like a mess and felt pretty much the same. His hair was all askew and his pajamas wrinkled, looking like he had been through a wringer more than once. He walked closer, pulled his pajama pants down, and began examining the damage to his backside. There was a little bit of redness and swelling around some of the puncture marks, which didn’t surprise him considering how many times he had been stuck. What _was_ surprising is that his whole rear wasn’t swelled, because it felt like it should be. Otherwise, his skin looked normal. But he was still sore. He sighed, gently rubbing his bottom. Mortals were so cruel, he thought. Such sadistic monsters. He couldn’t understand what Thor saw in them. He turned and looked at his bottom’s reflection again. And why did everything painful have to be applied to _his_ rear? It wasn’t fair! Everyone he came in contact with was bound and determined that he would never sit down again.

He sniffed back a few tears and pulled his pants back up, kicking at his boot on the floor. This was all Odin’s fault. If he had just put him in prison back on Asgard none of this would have happened. Loki’s face scrunched up in an angry scowl. Odin was probably sitting on his throne at that very moment, laughing at everything Loki had been through.

After getting dressed, choosing some loose-fitting cargo pants instead of jeans, Loki finally stepped out of his bedroom and hobbled into the living room where Jane was hunched over her laptop, a mug of coffee in one hand. Music was softly playing from the stereo.

“Hey,” she said, glancing up. “I thought you would sleep later.”

“The bed was starting to become uncomfortable,” he softly replied. He looked at a nearby chair and grimaced at the thought of sitting in it. “Actually…everything is uncomfortable right now.”

A slight smile creased Jane’s lips. “Want some breakfast?”

Loki nodded. “As long as it isn’t hospital food.”

“I hear you there.” Jane laughed, getting up and walking to the kitchen. “Don’t worry; I’ll fix you whatever you want.”

“Bacon and eggs and toast?” he said, hopeful.

“Sure thing.”

Loki walked into the kitchen and stood next to the table. His hands were still tucked behind him, rubbing at his soreness. Jane looked around at him, noting his hesitancy to sit.

“You want to help me fix it?”

She thought she detected a hint of shyness as Loki quickly shook his head.

“I know it’s probably beneath you, but I can teach you if you want me to.”

Again, Loki shook his head.

“All right, but it would help you feel more independent on days when I have to be away.”

“You’d actually leave me here alone?”

Jane thought a moment and then nodded. “Maybe, if you prove to me that you can behave yourself.”

Loki walked closer and leaned against the sink. “And if I don’t?”

“You’ll have to put up with having Darcy as a babysitter.”

Loki visibly cringed at that, although Jane wasn’t sure if it was the part about Darcy or because she used the word ‘babysitter’. She was assuming it was the latter.

“I don’t need a babysitter,” he mumbled.

Rather than argue the point, Jane decided to change the subject. “So, how are you feeling?”

“Sore,” he said bitterly, giving his rear another rub. He peered at Jane out of the corners of his eyes. “I’m done with vaccinations.”

“Yeah, well, not quite. You still have two more series of them to go next Friday.” Jane talked while she dished out bacon and scrambled eggs and put everything on the table.

Loki glared dangerously at her. “I’ve had _enough_. Besides, there’s no point in it seeing as how I never go out of this apartment anyway. As long as I stay here, I will be fine.”

“That’s just the point. You won’t stay here.” Jane turned to face him. “Do you know how you got the measles? It was the day you tricked Darcy and ran off somewhere. At least, that’s what Darcy and I have been able to figure.” Loki looked shocked, his mouth dropping open. “Yes, you got the measles because you disobeyed. Consider that and your vaccinations punishment brought on by your own actions. Personally, I think that’s worse than any spanking.”

Loki said nothing as he thought over everything. He got the measles and the shots because he disobeyed? Couldn’t he do _anything_ without getting some kind of painful consequence in return? He scowled angrily.

Jane put a pillow in Loki’s chair and gestured to it. “Here, sit and eat.”

Loki eased over to the chair and gingerly sat, only to immediately jolt back up, hitting his knees on the bottom part of the table. He hissed in pain and roughly rubbed out the sting in his butt. Huffing, he decided to stand instead. Jane put a hand over her mouth to hide an amused smile.

“It’s _not_ funny,” he snapped. “You go through the same ordeal and see how you like it.”

“I’m sorry,” said Jane. The air grew silent after that as they began to eat.

When the task of breakfast was done, Loki went to his room and read until lunch. He came into the kitchen and saw that Jane had sent out for pizza. During the few times he had been on Midgard in the past, he had discovered early on that he liked this particular mortal delicacy, so he eagerly accepted the plate Jane handed to him and put several slices on it.

After lunch, Loki lumbered into the living room to watch TV and tinker with some gadgets while Jane worked at the kitchen table. He had asked for some extra parts and wires, and Jane told him he could use any he wanted. She was curious as to why he wanted them but didn’t feel a need to pry. She figured that he would reveal his project to her when he was finished.

When Jane wasn’t looking, Loki stole quick glances toward the front door occasionally, envisioning himself making a fast get-a-way. All he had to do was wait until night when he was sure Jane was fast asleep, then he could sneak out. He didn’t know where he would go or what he’d even do, but he knew he had to get out of there. There was no way he was going to go through two more series of painful shots, especially if they gave them to him in his rear. He wasn’t sure how much more his poor backside could take.

But there was that funny tickling in the back of his mind again, and thoughts of getting spanked if he got caught started surfacing. He quickly pushed them away. He wasn’t planning on getting caught. And even if he did get caught, Jane wouldn’t be that cruel. His bottom might have suffered greatly, but it being sore gave him the perfect opportunity to get out. If something went wrong and Jane found out, he had a perfectly good excuse for her not to spank him. At the most, she’d probably yell at him and then send him to his room.

A satisfied smile played across his lips.

 

Loki lay awake in bed, staring through the darkness at the window. Since he was going to make a break for it, he hadn’t bothered putting on his pajamas. He lay there fully dressed in cargo pants, a light and dark green striped polo shirt, and sneakers. He laid waiting and listening. Jane was still in the bathroom across the hall, brushing her teeth and getting ready for bed. He heard her come out and walk to her bedroom and shut the door. Perfect, he thought. Now all he had to do was wait a little while until he felt sure she was asleep.

Two hours passed and Loki slowly got out of bed and moved to the door. Cracking it open, he peered down the hall to see if there was light under Jane’s bedroom door. There wasn’t. He opened the door wider and looked into the living room. Everything was dark and quiet, except for someone playing—or attempting to play—a trombone in one of the apartments down the hall outside. He cringed when they hit a wrong note. This was a part of living in Jane’s apartment that Loki could never get used to. As many nights as he spent there, he still had an undying urge to wrap the blasted thing around the neck of the person playing it.

Quickly, Loki darted out of his room and noiselessly walked to the front door, stopping once to listen and check over his shoulder to make sure he was still alone. When he saw that he was, he stretched out his hands and began slowly turning the lock.

Suddenly, one of the lamps came on, causing Loki to fumble and almost jump out of his clothing.

Busted.

“Loki, what are you doing?” Jane’s voice met his ears. He stopped cold, his fingers still on the deadbolt, his face turning quite pale. Slowly, he turned around and saw Jane sitting on the couch. He swallowed, not really knowing what to say.

“J-Jane!” He gulped. “Wha-what are you doing in here? I thought you were in bed.”

“I couldn’t sleep in bed so I thought I’d come out here and try sleeping on the sofa,” she answered. “But it looks like I won’t be doing any sleeping out here either.” She gestured in the direction of the trombone player, rolling her eyes. Loki still couldn’t understand how she got out of her room without him hearing her. “Now, would you like to tell me what you’re doing?”

“I...uh...that is…I was checking to make sure the door was locked. I…thought I heard something.”

“Uh-huh…You were planning on sneaking out of here, weren’t you?”

Loki didn’t answer right away, his fingers fiddling with the lock. He then sucked in his breath and straightened up, turning his gaze directly at her.

“Yes, I was,” he said smugly with a nod, although Jane could tell he was extremely nervous. “I don’t want any more shots! In fact, I’m tired of all of this…this nonsense! I’m a prince of Asgard and you have no right to treat me like this!” Jane continued to stare at him, her stoic facial expression never changing. “I’m tired of everything. I’m tired of hospitals, I’m tired of shots, I’m tired of spankings, I’m tired of my posterior constantly being in pain, and I’m tired of being in this apartment!

“Loki,” said Jane calmly.

“What?” he growled.

“Are you done venting?”

Loki huffed and puffed and finally relaxed with a sigh. 

“Come here,” Jane simply said.

“You are _not_ going to spank me!” he shouted, backing up against the door. “You can’t! My rear is already sore! You said yourself that you aren’t a cruel person.”

“Is that why you chose right now to try and make your escape?”

“Y-yes…” he replied weakly.

“Loki, here.” Jane pointed to the floor beside the couch. Loki hesitated, emitting a slight whimper. His eyes became watery as they searched the coffee table, trying to locate the dreaded ruler. Not seeing it there, he became apprehensive. Of course, it could just be hidden under some of the papers, but something in the back of his mind still screamed at him that Jane had it.

“Noo…”

Jane pointed at the place beside her again before beginning to count off on her fingers. “One…two…”

Loki quickly ran over and stood beside her, not wanting to see what happened when she reached three.

“Don’t spank me, please.” He sniffed. “I beg of you. I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry.”

“I’m keeping my word, Loki,” Jane calmly said, taking Loki by the arm and putting him across her lap. 

“N-no! Please, stop! I’m still SORE!”

“I have no intentions of spanking you where you’re sore. But you’re going to get a spanking nonetheless. You disobeyed; you’re going to get punished.” Despite his kicking legs, she pulled his cargo pants down to his knees, leaving his underwear in place. She took out the ruler from under her blanket and began slapping the backs of his thighs. Loki emitted a high pitched squeal and continued kicking, hoping to hinder the situation.

“Ouch! Please, no more!”

“Believe me, it pains me to have to do this to you so soon after everything else you’ve been through,” she said, slapping his thighs several more times. “I really wish you hadn’t made me do it.”

“Ahhhhh!”

“You said that you’re tired of your rear constantly being in pain. Maybe you should start making better choices so your rear doesn’t have to suffer. From what I can see, everything that’s happened to you has been the result of your bad choices.”

Loki began crying fully now, not only because of the building pain in his thighs but also because of Jane’s words. He kicked again, but Jane grabbed hold of his legs and pinned them under her own causing Loki to cry out more.

“I’m sorrrryyyy…” he blubbered and choked.

“How many times do I have to do this before it finally sinks in?” Jane asked, not slowing up. “Every time you disobey, you’re going to get a spanking.”

“I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that before. Haven’t seen it happen yet.” She applied ten more swats and stopped. “You need to start telling the truth for once.” She threw the ruler on the coffee table and pulled Loki’s pants up. “Now, I want you to go to your room and go to sleep. Like it or not, you’re getting those shots next week.”

Loki choked out more sobs, getting up off her lap and stumbling back toward the door. He rubbed the backs of his legs while making his way to his bedroom.

A few minutes later Jane walked up to the side of Loki’s bed. The trickster curled up under the covers. She sat down beside him, reaching out and lifting Loki under his arms like one would do to a child and pulled him toward her. Normally such a task would be nearly impossible, but with Odin’s strength Loki was as light as a kitten.

“Wh-what are you doing?” he said nervously, fearing she was going to spank him again. Jane said nothing as she pulled him into a hug, patting his back. He relaxed and melted into the embrace, wrapping his arms around her and placing his head on her shoulder. He let out a sniff and wiped a few tears away. He was secretly glad Jane had been there on the couch to stop him from leaving. He hated the spanking, of course, but he was glad that he was back in his bedroom.

“Where would you have gone?” said Jane, breaking the long silence.

“Huh?”

“If you had been able to get away from here, where would you have gone? Or did you forget about that part?”

Loki shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“You’re mortal, Loki.” Jane stroked his soft hair. “You need to keep reminding yourself that. You have no power or magic to help you. If you had gone out that door tonight, you would quickly discover just how much harder it is to be mortal. You would have had no money and no way to buy food or other necessities. You would have had no shelter, no nothing. Do you want to end up sleeping on a bench or the sidewalk somewhere? If you think washing clothes is beneath you, sleeping out on the streets is definitely far worse, wouldn’t you agree?”

Loki kept silent. He knew she was right but he didn’t want to admit it. Finally, he nodded.

“You think you can survive on your own,” Jane continued. “Truth is you can’t. Not in this state. You have no idea what it means to be mortal—to get a job, earn a living, buy a car, get yourself a place to live. Now that I’ve had time to think it over, Thor did the right thing by dropping you off here.”

Loki buried his nose in Jane’s shoulder and sighed. He hated being mortal. He hated admitting that Jane was right. He was completely helpless as well as somewhat clueless, and he hated that even more.

“Thank you,” he softly said.

“For what?” Jane replied, rather puzzled.

“For putting up with me.”

Jane smiled and held him closer.

“I’m sorry that I have to spank you, but I don’t know how else to get through to you. I just wish you would start showing me that you can be trusted.”

Loki frowned at the mentioning of the distasteful 'S' word.

Finally, Jane pulled the two of them apart, smiling and brushing the trickster’s hair out of his face. She kissed him on the cheek and helped him to settle himself under the covers again.


	17. Loki's Poor Bottom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some chapters of this fic were hard for me to write, I’ll confess. More specifically the ones where Loki gets shots. It took me a few days to get through writing the other chapter where he gets injections. And I hesitated for about a day before I started writing this one. My poor, poor baby. Halfway through writing both of these chapters, I just felt a strong urge to gather Loki up in my arms and give him cuddles.

When Friday morning arrived, Jane dreaded announcing to Loki that it was time for him to get his last two series of vaccinations. She knew it was inevitable, but still…she hated seeing the poor trickster freak out. She felt for him because she used to hate getting shots when she was a kid, too. And for Loki, the experience must be even more excruciating since this was his first time being mortal. She stalled for as long as she could, not breathing a word about it through breakfast.

Around eleven o’clock, Jane walked into Loki’s room. The trickster was sitting on the bed, reading. His sketchpad was open beside him, showing an in-progress pencil sketch of some mountains and a field of flowers.

Jane cleared her throat. “Um, Loki.”

He looked up from his book. “Yes?”

“I hate to say this, but…” Jane hesitated, walking closer to the bed, “It’s time to get your third and fourth series of shots.”

Loki’s face grew pale. “T-today?”

“Yes, today. It’s Friday.”

“NO!” Loki shouted in horror, dropping his book and pulling as far away from Jane as possible until he was practically hugging the headboard of the bed. He frantically shook his head. “No more shots, please! I just got to the point where I can sit down again!” He placed his hands under him as if trying to shield his bottom from the thought alone. “You mortals have such cruel and inhumane methods to cure illnesses!”

Despite himself, Loki curled into a tight ball and whimpered. Jane sighed, walked over to the bed, and grabbed him by the arm in an attempt to pull him along with her.

“I know, Loki, but such is life. Now, come on. Your doctor’s appointment is at twelve-thirty.”

“NO!” Loki jerked in Jane’s hold, scrambling and kicking, wadding the sheets up.

“Come on; don’t make me do something I’ll regret later,” Jane grunted. Somehow Loki managed to get out of her hold and rolled off the opposite side of the bed. He scrambled over to his Asgardian clothing and began picking up pieces of the armor to put in place on his arms.

“Loki, you are not going to wear that,” she said, walking over and taking hold of him again. He jerked his arm, trying to get her to let go, but she had a better grip on him this time.

“NO! I’m not going!” he shouted.

“Yes, you are,” she replied in a stern voice. “Now get up and let’s go.” She pulled him to his feet and dragged him out of his bedroom, but he grabbed hold of the doorframe and held on tightly. Jane would be lying if she said that the thought of throwing Loki over her knees and spanking his obstinate attitude out of him did not cross her mind, but she hated to do that. Loki had every right to be upset and fight against being stuck. She couldn’t blame him for that, but enough was enough.

“Loki, that’s enough!” Jane shouted. “Let go!”

By now, Loki knew that tone of voice all too well and knew what would follow if he didn’t comply. As much as he hated to, he obeyed and allowed Jane to pull him through the living room to stand next to the couch. Jane picked up a pair of white tennis shoes and put them on the floor at Loki’s feet.

“Put your shoes on.”

Glaring at her, Loki sighed and did as he was told.

It took awhile, but Jane finally got Loki downstairs and into the car. However, the event did not go without protest and a lot of screaming. Jane was embarrassed as she passed by the few people that were mingling about in the apartment building’s lobby. Her dragging out an adult man who was acting like a toddler probably did not look good.

The ride to the doctor’s office was surprisingly quiet, with Loki curled up in his seat, blankly looking out at the passing scenery. Every once in awhile, Jane would reach over and attempt to rub his arm, but each time Loki would pull away from her touch.

When they arrived at the doctor’s, Loki refused to get out of the car. Jane tried pulling him out but he latched onto the seat and refused to do what she wanted. Jane might as well have been pulling on the harness of a mule.

“Loki, you are severely trying my patience,” she said, standing beside the car with her hands on her hips. Loki refused to look at her, instead staring out across the parking lot. “You’d better get yourself out of this car right now or so help me I’ll spank you right here.” He finally looked at her, his watery green eyes nervously studying her face. “Do you want a spanking on top of getting shots?”

The trickster shook his head, holding back a sob. Jane grabbed his arm and Loki allowed himself to be pulled up to standing.

“I’ve never seen such childishness in my life,” Jane mumbled as she slammed the door shut. “Worse than an actual child.”

Loki hugged himself as they walked into the waiting room. Jane pushed him down in one of the chairs while she busied herself with filling out paperwork. He huddled up, crossing his left leg over his right and sullenly stared at the floor, a few tears escaping down his cheek. The TV on the other side of the room was turned to the news, which was still showing and rambling about the aftermath of New York City.

“It’ll be awhile,” said Jane, sitting down.

“Fine,” Loki mumbled. “I can enjoy sitting on my rear a bit longer.”

“If you behave yourself then maybe they’ll give it to you in the arms.”

Loki huffed. “Oh, like that’s any better!”

“At least you’d be able to sit down.”

“But I need my arms to do stuff with, too,” Loki huffed.

“Just behave yourself,” said Jane with a sigh.

Loki rolled his eyes, silently mouthing Jane’s last words mockingly. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, sighed, and turned away, still hugging himself. Fresh memories of pain started seeping into his mind and he shuddered. Even though his bottom had healed from the other injections, he could still feel it there. It was like a brand that had been seared into every fiber of his body. He didn’t relish repeating the experience again. But here he was, moments away from being put through the agonizing and humiliating torture a second time. A sickening knot started to form in his stomach and he felt lightheaded like he might pass out. As much as he hated admitting it, he felt that all too familiar nauseating panic start to creep up on him, pushing him closer and closer to hyperventilating. It was at this moment that he realized his hands were visibly trembling. He quickly stuck them between his legs to hide them. His eyes rested on the glass door of the waiting room. If only he could make it out. It would be a perfect chance to make a get-a-way. But Jane had been right. Where would he go?

He jumped when Jane rattled the pages of her magazine.

“Calm down,” Jane said, patting and rubbing his arm. “Just relax.”

Yeah, easy for her to say, he thought. Tears stung at his eyes when he thought of how helpless and trapped he was. He hated the feeling so much.

After an hour of waiting, a nurse finally walked into the waiting room and beckoned for Jane and Loki to follow her. Loki’s face went pale and he felt as if his heart flew up into his throat. He swallowed and slid down in his seat, not wanting to move.

“Don’t act up, Loki,” said Jane, tugging on his sleeve. “Come on.”

The nurse led them down a long hallway until she came to an empty examination room.

“If you’ll just wait in here, the doctor will be in shortly.”

Loki’s eyes nervously danced around the cold walls and all of the medical equipment, in his mind viewing it as being horrendous torture instruments. Visions of the Chitauri flashed through his head and he suppressed a scream. He shrank back against Jane, almost stumbling over her.

“What’s wrong now?” she said, pushing him off her foot.

He struggled to get words out of his mouth, eventually swallowing. “Th-this place…I don’t like it. It brings back bad memories.”

Jane pushed him forward and helped him onto the examination table.

A knock on the door made them turn. A young man—looking to be in his twenties—stepped into the room, carrying a clipboard and a pen. The white coat he wore made Loki tremble.

“Loki, is it?” the young doctor said, glancing at his board. “It says here that you’re scheduled for two series of immunizations.”

Before anyone could reply, there was a sudden loud, sickening thump. Turning, Jane saw that Loki had fainted backward across the table. The doctor rushed over and helped her pick him back up.

“Are you okay?” the doctor asked with concern when Loki finally came around again. Loki slowly turned to look at the man, not entirely certain what had happened. “I’ve seen a lot of reactions to white coats since I’ve been in the medical field, but I think this is the first time I’ve had someone to faint just from the sight of me.”

Loki frowned, pulling himself away from the doctor.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to look you over before we start,” said the doctor. “Just do a few little checkups.”

Loki looked at Jane. She nodded.

Loki sighed. “If you must.”

Jane turned and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. She leaned against the wall and pulled out her phone to check it for messages. It wasn’t but about three minutes when she heard a loud cry from inside the room, accompanied by a crash. She first thought it had been Loki, but when the cry for help met her ears and it sounded more like the doctor than Loki. She quickly grabbed the doorknob and ran in, stopping when her eyes landed on what was unfolding in front of her.

“Loki!” she gasped. Loki looked at her, guilt washing over his face. He held a small dagger in one hand, the tip of it pointed toward the doctor’s chest. “How _could_ you?” 

Loki faltered, trying to decide whether to lower his hand or not. He already hated himself for pulling the dagger on the doctor. It had been a stupid move, one of which he was quite certain his bottom would pay dearly for. He swallowed and forced himself to look at Jane again; looking the equivalent of a scolded puppy. Finally, he lowered the weapon, hiding it behind his back and stepping away from the other man.

Jane turned to the doctor. “I’m sorry about this. He’s…” She glanced at Loki, “got issues. Could you leave us alone for a few minutes? I’d like to _talk_ with him in private.”

The way Jane said the word ‘talk’ sent prickling chills down Loki’s back which ended in a pang of remembered pain in his backside. He swallowed, quickly putting his dagger away in a pocket of his pants.

When the doctor left, Jane shut the door and turned on Loki. “I have had all I can take. Do you want a spanking?” She kept her voice low, yet firm. Loki lowered his head and began backing up.

“No! Why would I want one?”

“Your behavior just now says that you want one.” Before Loki could say anything, Jane was by his side, bending him over forward and putting him in a headlock. She delivered four hard swats to his rear before allowing him to straighten back up. “That was a warning. Care to try for the actual thing?”

Loki eyed her wildly as he scrambled over behind the examination table to put it between the two of them, his hand vigorously rubbing the sting out of his rear. “N-no.”

“Then act like an adult.” In afterthought, she thought she’d better rephrase that, “Act like a _sane_ adult.” She held out her hand. “Give me the dagger.”

Loki shook his head. Jane took several steps toward him. “Give it to me, Loki.”

“No! I don’t have to. I’m tired of you being the boss of me!”

Jane stomped over to him. He quickly darted away to the other side of the table.

“N-n-no, please, don’t,” he whined, trying to stay away from the madwoman. “Not in public!”

She finally caught up with him, grabbing hold of the sleeve of his shirt and pulling him toward her. He twisted in her hold, but, thanks to Odin’s strength, she managed to bend him over the examination table with no problem and began to spank his bottom in earnest. He let out a slight squeal and reached behind him to cover his rear from the blows. Jane stopped long enough to move his hands to the front of him and began pelting his backside again, as hard as she could.

“Give me the dagger,” Jane said after stopping. Loki still refused. “Okay, then. You can’t say I didn’t warn you.” She began the spanking again, yanking his jeans and boxers down enough to expose part of his bare cheeks.

“OKAY! Okay, okay. You can have the dagger. Just stop! Stop, stop, stop!.” Loki wailed. He pulled out the dagger and handed it to her. “I’m sorry!”

“Is that the only one you have?” she asked. He nodded. “You’d better not be lying. If you are, you’ll regret it.” She took the dagger and stopped the spanking, pulling his pants back up. Loki turned around to face her, sniffling. She stood back and regarded him with an annoyed look.

Loki glanced at the door, hoping that no one outside heard what was going on. He sighed and rubbed his bottom.

“You let the doctor examine you.” Jane pointed a finger at him. “And don’t try to kill him. If you pull any more tricks like the one you just did, I’ll come in here and spank you again—in front of the doctor if need be. Understand?”

Loki blushed and nodded.

“Good.” She walked to the door and opened it. The doctor was waiting on the other side. “He’s all yours.”

“D-does he have any more…”

“Nope, he’s completely harmless. Again, I apologize for that.”

After the doctor completed the examination, Jane was allowed to enter the room. She found Loki huddled on the table, hugging himself.

“You okay?” she asked soothingly, rubbing his back. Loki nodded then got up off the table.

“I’m ready to go home now.”

Jane grabbed him by the shirt. “Nice try.”

The trickster let out a faint whimper, seating himself back on the table.

“Jane,” he said weakly, “I think I’m going to throw up.”

At hearing this, Jane pulled the trash can closer to the table. But Loki never did what he said he felt like. She gave his arm a squeeze and patted his back.

When the door opened again, an all too familiar sight stepped into the room. One that made Loki’s heart fall down to the pit of his stomach. Two nurses walked around the examination table and placed two trays of syringes down on the counter, one of them reaching to pull a pair of disposable latex gloves out of a box on the wall. Loki followed them with his eyes, feeling panic surging up again.

The doctor and a couple more nurses entered.

“There appears to be a special note attached to your records given to me by the hospital. More like a warning,” said the doctor, looking at his clipboard. Loki and Jane both looked at him. “It says that you aren’t one for getting shots and that I might need to restrain you…?”

Loki visibly swallowed and turned a cowed look to Jane.

“Would it be possible if I stayed in here with him?” Jane asked.

The doctor shook his head. “Sorry, but if I have to restrain him and have more nurses in here to help keep him under control, you’ll just be in the way. I’d prefer if you waited outside.”

Jane gave Loki a sympathetic look, squeezing his arm again. “I’m sorry. I’ll be right outside the door.”

Loki watched as Jane disappeared and several male nurses came in, closing the door. Suddenly the room felt awful crowded and cramped to the trickster, like everyone was moving in on him. He knew he was shaking all over, but he couldn’t help it. The next thing he was aware of was someone moving beside his right arm. He turned to see a nurse grab for his sleeve. He jerked his arm out of her hand and backed up as far as he could on the table, pulling his knees up to his chest.

“I guess they weren’t kidding.” the doctor remarked. Loki said nothing as he glared menacingly in the doctor’s direction, pretty much daring him to make any sort of move.

The nurse again tried to grab hold of Loki’s arm, but he shoved her away and leaped from the table, trying to push his way through the nurses to get to the door. But he soon discovered it was no easy feat. The male nurses were the ones blocking his path and it was basically like shoving his way through trolls or Frost Giants. They tackled him before he could even reach the door and held him tightly by both arms, dragging him over to the table. They looked to the doctor and he nodded, an action only they understood—an action that made Loki even more nervous. He struggled in their hold, kicking and flailing and grunting, but they managed to get him back on the table. To Loki’s horror, he was placed on his stomach, the nurses holding him in place like a vice. Two nurses pinned his upper body, while two nurses pinned his legs.

“Nooooo! Not this again!” he wailed. “Please, anything but this. I’m sorry! I won’t act up.”

“So you know what this position means?” said the doctor.

“Yes,” Loki sniveled, looking over his shoulder. “Please, don’t. I can’t handle going through this torture again.”

“Don’t you worry; it’ll all be over in a little while,” the doctor promised. Loki felt like he was about to suffocate under the hold of the nurses, his face being pushed into the table’s hard surface, but that was completely forgotten the moment he felt the doctor unzip his jeans and pull them down, his underwear following in short order. A cool breeze met his bared backside and fear crawled over every inch of his body. He began to twist and struggle against the restraining arms of the nurses.

“NO! Please! I beg of you!” he wailed out in a hoarse, watery voice, burying his face into one of his shoulders. He somehow kicked one of his legs loose, but the nurses were quick about pinning it to the table again.

“Nooo!” he choked out. A wet cloth was swiped over his bared cheeks, making him blush. He tightly closed his eyes and fought to keep his breathing under control, knowing all too well what was to come next. He hated being in this position. Oh, how he hated it. He never wanted to be in this position again, yet here he was. It was horrific, that’s what it was. It was one big, hideous nightmare. Any moment he would wake up and find himself in bed in Jane’s apartment. He hoped.

“OW!!” Loki screamed out. A stinging pain in the left side of his rear woke him up to reality. It really wasn’t a dream. He held his breath, determined not to make a scene. He felt tears welling up in his eyes and he finally gasped and let out the breath he’d been holding. Another sharp pain like the first stabbed him in the right side of his rear, making him arch his back the best he could under the restraining hold of the nurses.

After three injections, Loki had enough. He no longer cared about his dignity (what was left of it anyway) or whether or not he made a scene. He wriggled and tried his best to wrench himself out of the nurses’ hold, succeeding in getting one arm loose after he bit down on one of the nurses’ hands. He looked over his shoulder and saw one of the female nurses standing by with a syringe in one hand ready to jab it into his butt like she had done with the first three. He panicked and began twisting harder. 

“No more!” he sobbed out. “I don’t want anymore!”

“Mister Loki, please be still,” the doctor said, grabbing hold of him. “There’s no call for any of this.” 

“You try going through this and see if you can be still!” Loki seethed, his voice dripping with venom.

The nurses holding him picked him up by the arms and scooted him back onto the table. Loki knew he probably looked like a fish out of water as he flopped and struggled to get free, but he frankly didn’t care. Although he _was_ momentarily embarrassed by his rear being fully exposed, his pants bunched up around his knees.

The nurses finally got him mostly pinned down again, one of them putting the full weight of his upper body right across the middle of the trickster’s back. Loki caught sight of the nurse holding the syringe coming up next to him again and he made one last attempt at hindering the inevitable. He yanked his left leg loose and kicked the nurse’s arm, the needle flying backward onto the counter, making a loud clattering crash as it landed in the trays. The nurse let out a yelp of pain and grabbed her arm, and everyone else started talking at once, the doctor shouting orders of how to restrain Loki.

When everyone was in their positions again, the annoyed nurse Loki had kicked grabbed a syringe and angrily jabbed it into the trickster’s rear so hard he let out a deafening, inhuman screech that made everyone wince and grab their ears. He felt sure the nurse only did it to punish him. He silently confessed to himself that he’d much rather be spanked by Jane’s ruler than to go through this. And that was saying a lot since he loathed being spanked by her ruler.

“THAT HURT!” he yelled, gasping. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

“Serves you right.” the nurse murmured. But Loki still heard it and he shot her a dangerous glance—as dangerous as he could muster anyway, considering he was bawling at the same time.

“Hey! That was uncalled for,” the doctor said, pointing to the nurse. Loki looked at him in surprise.

“He had it coming!” the nurse shouted.

“I don’t care. We don’t treat our patients that way.” The doctor turned to Loki. “I apologize for that.”

Loki heard the apology, but he was crying too hard to say anything in reply. Besides, an apology wasn’t going to take the pain out of his rear. He felt someone, the doctor perhaps, dab a cotton ball on the area the nurse stabbed. He hissed and winced at the pain.

After two hours, and Loki making another failed attempt at escaping, the nurse gave the trickster one final shot, which he felt was the most painful one yet, next to the one she had rammed into his tail. He squealed in agony and wriggled about in the nurses’ hold. By now, he barely had a voice. What little was still in tact came out through hitched breathing and choking sobs, tears streaming down his cheeks in waterfalls. When the vaccinations were over, all of the nurses stepped back, breathing in relief.

“I have _never_ seen a grown man act that way before,” the doctor said, massaging his temples. He, along with everyone else in the room, looked exhausted. The doctor turned and opened the door. “You’re free to come in anytime, Miss Foster. By all means, please take him out of here.”

Jane immediately stepped through the doorway, stopping a few seconds to take in the scene. “What’s been happening in here? The screaming I heard was enough to wake the dead.”

“Jane,” Loki weakly said through his sobs. He stretched out a hand toward her. She walked over to him and ran her hand over his head and rubbed his back.

“What’s been happening?” the doctor snorted. “It’s taken us two hours to give this man all of his vaccinations. Most of that time was spent trying to keep him restrained. I’ve had kids make less of a fuss over getting shots.”

“I’m glad it’s over with,” said one of the female nurses. “Although I’ll admit, giving him that tetanus shot actually felt good.”

“You gave him a tetanus shot in his rear??” said Jane, her eyes glancing at Loki’s still exposed bottom. She blushed and reached over, took hold of his pants, and began pulling them up gently. “What kind of cruel, insane nurse would do that to someone?”

“He was being ornery!” the nurse snapped back. “He kicked my arm. You try giving him shots and see what you result to doing.”

“I hate all of you!” Loki choked out. “I hate this place!”

Jane grabbed Loki by the arm and gently helped him to stand. “Come on, Loki. Let’s get you out of here.”

Loki felt sure he wouldn’t be able to walk, but he managed to waddle a few steps forward. Jane held onto his arm to keep him steady.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow…” he hissed out, stopping to zip up his jeans. His cheeks flushed redder at the thought of another car ride home laying on his stomach in the backseats.


	18. Astraphobic

Jane knocked on the door to Loki’s room a couple of times and entered when he failed to give her permission. Apparently, he hadn’t heard her, or he didn’t want to. He was lying on his stomach in bed, his head turned toward the window. He was partially awake, watching the rain streak down the glass, highlighted by the streetlight behind it. He held onto his cape with his left hand, an action of which she still thought was cute. As she quietly walked closer, she stopped at the foot of the bed and leaned over to study the trickster. Loki had his right thumb stuck tightly in his mouth, his eyes slowly drooping. She smiled.

“Are you…” She walked closer, “sucking your thumb?”

Loki’s eyes shot open and he looked up at her in bewildered surprise, like she had slapped him. It took him a few seconds to realize what she had asked and he quickly took his thumb out of his mouth and pushed his hand under the pillow. He nuzzled his face into the pillow, refusing to look at her.

“Oh, don’t stop on my account,” she said with an amused laugh that she tried to hide. “Although, I _do_ find it amusing that the man who wanted to rule the world still sucks his thumb.”

“You didn’t see that,” he said, though half of it was muffled. Jane smiled as she set the cup of tea on the night table. It was apparent that Thor didn’t tell her everything about his little brother when he dropped him off. Or maybe Thor didn’t know about this side of Loki. She sat on the side of the bed and reached over to rub Loki’s back.

“It’s okay,” she said softly. “I already knew.”

Loki looked up at her. His mouth dropped open. “What?”

Jane forced back another laugh. “The first night you were in the hospital…you put your thumb in your mouth shortly after you went to sleep. I thought it might have been due to the sedative, but…” She gestured at Loki, “apparently not.”

Loki blushed, turning to hide his face in the pillow again.

“Awww, I’m not going to tell anyone.”

Loki took his face out of the pillow and looked at her. “You’re not?”

“Of course not,” she said with a faint laugh. “Why would I?”

Loki shrugged, laying his head back on the pillow. He gently moved his rear, so he could lie on his side.

“But,” Jane smiled, “you _do_ know you’re a little old to be doing that, right?”

Loki’s bottom lip pooched out in a pout and he looked down at the bed sheet, his cheeks turning redder. The room remained quiet except for the pouring rain that beat against the window. Tears welled up in his eyes, and Jane immediately regretted ever saying anything. The poor trickster had been through so much in the past several weeks. She couldn’t blame him for trying to find some amount of comfort. He might have been a thorn in her side, but she admitted that she felt compassion for him, more so now than she had the night Thor dropped him off. She would never say it aloud, but she was growing quite fond of him.

She smiled lovingly at Loki and picked up his hand and gently eased his thumb back into his mouth, then ran her hand over his hair. “I’m sorry I scolded you,” she whispered. “If it brings you comfort, you go right ahead. I think you need all the comfort you can get right now.”

He looked at her quizzically, his thumb partly slipping out of his mouth. He moved it back in place and settled down, not taking his eyes off Jane.

Jane continued to stroke his hair. She smiled. “You know. I actually think it’s precious the way you do that.”

Loki cringed but continued to suck his thumb anyway.

“D-does Darcy know? She was there at the hospital that night,” Loki said around his thumb.

Jane shook her head. “No. It’s just our secret.”

Loki visibly relaxed, the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Jane picked up the cup of chamomile tea from the night table and offered it to Loki.

“It’ll help you sleep,” she said, “which is something I think you need after today.”

Loki gingerly sat up the best he could without putting weight on his rear and took the cup of tea and began to sip.

“I never want to go through that again,” he sourly said.

“You don’t have to worry. That was the last of them,” she said. “And I’m glad. I’m still upset at that nurse for doing what she did to you.”

Loki gave a weak smile.

Jane gently gave the tip of his nose a playful squeeze. “You might be a pain, but you didn’t deserve that.”

Just then, a faint rumble of thunder sounded, causing Loki to falter and emit a slight whimper. His eyes darted toward the window.

“It’s just thunder. It's not going to hurt you,” said Jane, observing his reaction. Loki nervously looked at her before turning his eyes back to the window. “It’s not Thor if that’s what you’re worried about. It’s just normal thunder.”

Loki relaxed a little at those words, but he still looked nervous. He finished his tea in silence, keeping a wary eye on the window. When he was finished he gave the cup to Jane. He eased back against the pillow, his eyes already starting to close, and adjusted himself where he would be on his stomach.

“You get some sleep,” Jane said, pulling the covers over him and tucking him in.

The tea helped to knock Loki into sleep for awhile, but not for long. A few hours into the night, Jane was startled awake by someone roughly shaking her by her shoulder. At first, she thought she was dreaming, but as she peered through the darkness she saw someone standing beside her bed. It was then that she scrambled to a sitting position.

“Wh-who’s there?”

“Jane?” The soft voice of Loki came in reply. She sighed in relief. Apparently, she forgot to lock her door.

“What is it, Loki?” She groped around until she found his hand. “What are you doing in here?”

“I’m…” He hesitated.

“Yes?”

Suddenly there was a flash of light from the window out in the hallway, which was quickly followed by a loud clap of thunder that nearly rocked the building. She felt Loki jump and tightly squeeze her hand.

“I’m scared,” he finally got out in a whimper. He hated himself for saying it.

Jane leaned over and turned the lamp on. Loki stood before her, one hand firmly grasping hers and the other fidgeting with the bottom part of his night shirt. He looked like he was halfway between panic and crying.

“Loki, it’s just thunder,” she said soothingly. “I told you earlier that it’s not going to hurt you.”

He was doing his best not to cry. Jane sighed. “It isn’t Thor,” she added. “It’s a natural thing that occasionally happens here on earth.”

“I know, but I’m still scared.” his bottom lip trembled. He crawled onto the bed and lay on his stomach beside her. He put his thumb in his mouth and stared at the wall over the bed, jumping and hiding his face in the sheets whenever a burst of thunder sounded loud. Sighing again, Jane rubbed her hand down his back. She saw that his pajama pants were slightly coming down so she quickly pulled them up and adjusted them. Another blast of thunder rolled by and Loki jumped and curled himself around Jane, grabbing hold of her nightshirt.

“Awww, it’s okay, it’s not going to get you.” She combed her fingers through his hair. “It’s just…a lot of light and noise.”

“I don’t like the light and noise,” Loki said softly, his voice watery.

“A big boy like you afraid of a little bit of lightning and thunder?”

Loki rolled his shoulders and buried his face in her pajamas, his thumb still in his mouth.

“You can’t sleep in here, Loki. You’re going to have to go back to your room.”

Loki shook his head, keeping his thumb in his mouth. “Noo, I can’t. Please don’t make me.”

“You’ll have to.”

He looked up at her with bright, innocent eyes, tears brimming at the corners. Jane knew he was trying to work on her and wheedle his way out of going back to his room, but she wasn’t about to give in. It was hard since he often reminded her of a little kid.

A playful look suddenly came into Jane’s eyes, a smirk forming on her lips. “If you don’t go to your room, I’m going to tickle you.” Loki’s head perked and he looked up at her. “Are you ticklish?”

“No,” he said bluntly.

“I have a feeling you are.” She stretched her hand out and lightly ran her fingers over Loki’s side, running them up to poke around his armpit.

He fidgeted, giggled, and pushed her hand away. “Stop.”

“Mm-hm. I knew it.” She beamed. “Stay here long enough, and I’ll find your weak spots.”

Loki pulled his arms closer to his body and showed no signs of moving. Jane proceeded to tickle him around his armpit again, poking her finger at the tender areas. He giggled and pushed her away.

“Stop it!” he said. A blast of thunder ended his sentence and made him curl up again. The sudden movement must have caused him pain in his backside because he winced and uttered a cry, reaching behind him to rub at his bottom, never mind that his pants were starting to inch their way down again. Jane reached and pulled them back up before he risked exposing himself. Not that it mattered much. She already knew what his butt looked like anyway. But she still respected his modesty.

“Would it help if I stayed in there with you?” she said in a whisper. Loki’s eyes searched her face for a minute, giving away a hint of disappointment at the suggestion. She knew he wanted to stay in her room. He finally gave a nod. “Come on.”

Jane gathered a blanket and a pillow from her bed and pushed Loki out into the hallway.

“You might want to tie the strings on your pants before you lose them,” she said, a hint of a smile appearing on her lips. Loki quickly did as she said, not realizing he hadn’t tied them.

After the trickster returned to his bed, Jane tucked him in again, giving him his cape. She then pulled a chair over and positioned it between the bed and the window so she could be closer to Loki in case he needed her. She wasn’t looking forward to another night of sleeping in an uncomfortable chair, but she’d do it for Loki.

Loud thunder rolled through and Loki stretched his hand out and felt for Jane. She grabbed his hand in hers and squeezed it gently.

“It’s okay, don’t worry,” she whispered. “I’m right here.”

Loki gave her hand a squeeze back but said nothing.

“I thought you grew out of that fear when you were younger,” another voice suddenly said from the doorway. Startled, Loki rose up and Jane jumped from her chair.

“Mother!” Loki happily said. Jane sat down again when she saw who it was. Frigga’s form walked into the room, her features faintly visible in the dim light of the streetlight outside.

“Hello, Loki.” She smiled, walking over to sit on the side of the bed. She embraced her son tightly, planting kisses on his face. Loki nuzzled up to her, moving around into a position that was comfortable and that wouldn’t hurt his sore backside.

“Easy,” he whispered to Frigga when she was putting him in a cradling position in her arms. “My bottom’s sore again.”

“Seems like I always come when you’re sore.” She chuckled. Loki forced a smile, which quickly dropped. “Is it sore from vaccinations or spanking?”

Loki shifted uncomfortably at the question. “Vaccinations,” he said shyly.

“Bad ones, this time, I’m afraid,” Jane cut in. “Some idiot nurse decided to stab one of the needles in him pretty hard.”

Even in the dim light, Jane could make out that a flash of anger momentarily washed over the All-Mother’s face before she turned to give Loki another comforting nuzzle and kiss. Loki soaked up the affection like a sponge, melting into her arms and burying his face in her dress. 

“My poor baby,” Frigga cooed softly, stroking the trickster’s hair and beginning to rock him. Jane sat silently and watched, suddenly feeling out-of-place like she was witnessing a very private moment.

A blast of thunder shook the room, causing Loki to curl up and grasp Frigga’s dress tighter. He whimpered, moving as close as he could possibly get to his mother as if he could somehow merge himself into her and become part of her. Frigga shook her head, not believing her son’s actions, but said nothing. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him and continued to rock him, patting his back gently.

By now, the storm had reached its peak and the rain poured down furiously in torrents. Even through the closed blinds, Jane could see the irregular shapes of the water streaming down the outside glass like miniature waterfalls. Lightning flashed and more thunder came like cannon fire. Each time it sounded, Loki would jump and whimper despite being snug in his mother’s arms.

“Would you like to sleep in your own bed?” Frigga suddenly asked, peering at Jane.

“Well, I…” An unexpected yawn interrupted Jane’s words.

The All-Mother smiled. “Go ahead and go back to bed. I’ll stay here with him until the storm has passed.”

“Thank you,” Jane said, getting up from her chair. She admitted that she had wanted to stay with him, but she kept it to herself. Besides, Loki probably needed his mother more than her anyway.

When Jane left the room, Frigga turned a smiling face to Loki. She leaned to kiss his head.

“You aren’t afraid of a storm, are you?”

Loki nodded. “Yes.”

“There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Loki shrugged her words off and cuddled next to her, sighing contentedly. Both sat in silence for several minutes, listening as the storm raged outside. Loki was too scared to sleep, so he nestled himself in Frigga’s arms and stared nervously toward the window, closing his eyes tightly and burying his face in Frigga’s chest like a little boy every time lightning flashed.

Suddenly, a quick flash of lightning flickered and a deafening boom followed it, sending the trickster scrambling.

“Mama!” he whimpered, wrapping his arms tighter around the All-Mother. She sighed.

“Loki,” she said gently, “you must control yourself.”

“I can’t help it,” he whined.

“Let’s talk about something,” Frigga suggested. “To get your mind off it.”

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Well, I’d like to know if you’ve been good since the last time I was here.”

Loki remained silent for some time until Frigga prodded him. “Yeah, I’ve been good.”

Frigga lifted an eyebrow. “Jane hasn’t given you any more spankings?”

Loki’s mouth worked and then he shook his head, forcing an innocent smile. “No.”

“Are you sure about that?” There was a hint of warning in Frigga’s voice. Somehow she always knew when he was lying. He just couldn’t figure it out.

“Okay! Okay. She spanked me,” Loki confessed, not wanting to think about it. “It was this afternoon, at the doctor. I pulled a dagger on the doctor when he was trying to examine me and I refused to hand it over to Jane.”

“Loki!”

“I’m sorry, Mama!” He sniffed. “I don’t know why I did it. I just did. And I regret it.”

Frigga pulled Loki close to her and kissed him. “There, there.”

“Ar-are you disappointed in me?” he meekly asked.

“Yes, I _am_ disappointed, but I forgive you.” She smiled at him. “You were properly punished for it and you regret your actions, so now we move on.”

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I don’t deserve to be your son.”

“Don’t talk like that, Loki.” She kissed his forehead. “Of course, you deserve to be my son. I’m proud to have you as my baby boy. I don’t expect you to be perfect. I don’t want you to be perfect. All I want is for you to learn to make better choices for your life. You’re allowed to make mistakes and you _will_ make mistakes, but sometimes you overdo it to the extreme, and then you blame everyone else but yourself.” Loki nuzzled her. “One of these days I fear that you’re going to go too far, and I’m going to lose you for good.”

Loki’s bright eyes looked up at her, worry etched in his facial features. “Don’t talk like that, Mother.”

“It’s true, Loki.” She looked down at him. “That’s why I gave Jane permission to spank you whenever you need it the last time I was here. I love you with all of my heart, and I want to see you become a better person.”

“But…I’m a monster,” Loki whined.

“I wish you would stop saying that and stop using it as an excuse,” Frigga said tiredly. “You’re _not_ a monster. And even if you were, that still wouldn’t mean that you have to act the way you do. Your actions are your choice and your choice alone. And you can choose to change them if you wanted to. You’ve wallowed in your lies so long that you can’t even admit the truth to yourself anymore.”

Loki said nothing in reply. He was getting sleepy and he no longer wanted to think on the matter. He yawned and snuggled closer to Frigga.

“The storm has passed,” said the All-Mother after a few minutes of silence. Loki listened, cracking an eye open. She was right. There was no more lightning or thunder. The worst of the storm had passed by, leaving behind a steady downpour of rain that continued to pelt the window.

“Don’t go,” he mumbled sleepily.

She smiled, running her hand over his head. “I don’t have to go if you don’t want me to. But you must sleep now. I can tell that you’re exhausted.”

Loki yawned again before slipping into a deep slumber.


	19. Thor Returns

**~ Three Months Later ~**

Jane ran into her bedroom and quickly slammed the door, but not before a pillow made its way through the crack, grazing her shoulder. She grinned and laughed and bent over to pick it up, brushing some of her hair out of her face. Cautiously, she cracked the door and peeked out into the hallway. Seeing no one there, she opened the door wider and stepped out. Before she could take three steps, Loki and Darcy came out of nowhere and began hitting her with pillows.

“Okay, stop! Stop, stop,” she said with a laugh, holding her hands out to stop the pillows from hitting her again. “You win.”

Everyone stopped to breathe. After getting her breath back, Jane took advantage of the lull and hit Darcy in the arm before turning to hit Loki.

“Hey!” Loki shouted.

When both were momentarily distracted by the attack, Jane ran past them and into the living room where she jumped over the coffee table and took a rolling dive over and behind the couch.

“We know you’re in here!” said Darcy, still giggling. “I mean, it’s an apartment. You have very limited areas to hide.”

“I think she went into the kitchen.” Jane heard Loki say. Footsteps walked across the floor and all was quiet. She took this moment to peek over the couch, only to get a pillow right in the face. She fell backward, laughing. 

“I thought you went in the kitchen,” she said through her laughter.

“You think you can fool me?” Loki grinned. “I saw you go behind the couch.”

Jane stretched her hands out and roughly tousled Loki’s hair. “You cheated.”

“What can you expect? I’m a trickster.” He smiled. She laughed at his hair being in such a disarray state and playfully thumped the end of his nose with her finger.

“You know what?” she whispered.

“What?” said Loki in a low voice.

“I would be honored to have you as my brother-in-law.” She smiled.

Loki blinked in surprise. “Really?”

“Sure. You might be a pain sometimes, but what brother isn’t?”

Loki grinned. “I should know.”

“You guys, if this pillow fight has officially ended, we should probably start the movie if we’re going to watch it because it’s getting late,” said Darcy, glancing at her watch. Jane and Loki looked at her. “I’ve already started popping the popcorn.”

Jane came out from behind the couch, Loki giving her one last hit with his pillow.

“Hey! That isn’t fair,” she laughed, smacking him on the rear with her pillow, which practically sent him toppling over on the couch.

“Not fair, huh?” He sat up. “What do you call what you just gave me??”

Jane jumped on Loki and started hitting him without mercy with her pillow, both of them laughing.

“Okay, okay, I give up! Truce!” he said, finally managing to push Jane off him. He rolled over and Jane smacked him in the rear again with her pillow. “Ow! You keep on doing that, and we’ll be here all night.” He grinned and snatched the pillow away from her.

“Give that back,” she said, reaching for it. Loki kept it out of her reach.

“Oh, no, you’re too dangerous with it.” He put it under him and sat on it. Jane tried moving him, but he stayed firm. He thought he had finally won until Jane decided to bring tickling into the game.

“Ack! Stoppit!” He brushed Jane’s fingers away from his armpits. “Here, take your old pillow.”

“Here we go,” said Darcy, bringing in two bowls of popcorn and setting them on the coffee table. “I’ll go get the other one.”

Jane and Loki straightened themselves up, throwing their pillows to the side, on the floor. Loki made himself comfortable in the middle seat of the couch, Jane on his left. When Darcy came back, she seated herself on Loki’s right.

Before they could start their movie, however, there was a sudden flash of light in the middle of the room that practically blinded everyone. When it disappeared, everyone blinked in momentary confusion, trying to regain their sight.

“ _What_ was that??” Darcy said, taking her glasses off and rubbing at her eyes. Jane was suddenly aware that there was anther presence in the room with them. Turning, she saw Thor standing beside her.

“Thor!” she breathed out, getting up and stumbling toward him. They embraced each other, sharing a kiss.

Loki scowled distastefully when he saw who was standing before him. He had to force-swallow the handful of popcorn he had just shoved into his mouth. He was finally happy, and Thor had to come and ruin it like he always did. Typical.

“Sorry for barging in. Hope I didn’t interrupt anything,” said Thor, nodding in greeting to Darcy and then to his brother.

“No, no you didn’t interrupt anything,” Jane said. “We were just getting ready to watch a movie.”

“Oh.” Thor shifted Mjolnir to his left hand. “Then, by all means, go right ahead.”

“Care to join us?”

Thor nodded. “Gladly.” He seated himself in the nearest chair, putting Mjolnir on the floor beside him.

“I’ll go fix another bowl of corn,” said Darcy, getting up and walking into the kitchen.

“Has it already been three months?” said Jane.

Thor nodded. “Yes, it has. How are you faring with my brother?”

Jane turned to look at Loki beside her, who was unusually quiet. Thor followed her gaze and smiled. Loki, however, continued to give him a soured look.

“Well,” Jane started, “it was a rough start, but we’re getting along fairly well now.” She nudged Loki with her elbow. “Isn’t that right?”

Loki shrugged and looked down at his popcorn, turning a few pieces over with his finger.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Jane noticed that Thor sounded distant like he had some bad news to tell but was hesitant about coming out with it for fear of ruining everyone’s fun. She thought about asking what was wrong but decided it would be best to wait until after the movie.

“Here we go.” Darcy came out of the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn and handed it to Thor.

“Thank you,” he said, accepting the food.

 

When the movie was over, the room was brimming with excited chatter as everyone discussed their favorite parts, the actors, and what parts they didn’t like.

“What was the name of that one actor…?” Darcy said, snapping her fingers as if it would help her think better. She finally thought of the name, but it was lost in the conversation. Loki named off several of his favorite scenes, saying that he’d like to try them out, only to be told a big no from Jane.

“So,” Jane said, turning to Thor and changing the subject once the movie talk had died down, “how’s everything back in Asgard?”

Thor nodded. “As well as can be expected. Repairs to the Bifrost are coming along faster than we thought. That’s actually how I came here.”

“Lovely,” Loki mumbled.

“Have you been behaving yourself, brother?” His eyes fixed on the trickster.

Loki looked over at Thor, partly wrinkling his nose as if the thought of answering the question sickened him.

“What do _you_ think?” he said coldly.

“Loki,” Jane whispered, “that’s not nice.”

Loki looked at her then turned his head away.

“He has, for the most part,” Jane answered for him.

“You’ve been able to handle him?”

“Yes.” Jane smiled. “It took awhile, but we finally came to an understanding.”

“Taking a ruler to his butt helped,” said Darcy. Loki shot her a dangerous glare, then he turned a flushed face to Thor.

“I…do not understand…” Thor said, looking from Darcy to Loki and then finally to Jane.

“It’s a long story.” Darcy waved it off.

“I would like to hear it,” said Thor, leaning back in his chair.

Jane and Darcy filled Thor in on everything that took place from the night he left Loki with Jane until present. Loki’s face turned hot and red and he felt as though he would sink deep into the cushions of the couch when they got to the parts where Jane spanked him and when he got the shots. He expected Jane to reveal that he also sucked his thumb and slept with his cape like a blankie, but she never did. He admitted that he admire her for not telling Thor his secrets.

Thor was irritated at first when he heard all of the trouble Loki had caused Jane and Darcy, but then his irritation melted into amusement when she got to the part where she spanked him with the ruler, commenting that his brother probably hadn’t been spanked since they were children.

“Brought back memories, didn’t it, brother?” He laughed jovially. Loki kept quiet, his cheeks burning with embarrassment.

When Jane was done, the room was silent for some time. Thor fiddled with part of his clothes, looking over at Jane occasionally. He forced a smile when her eyes met his.

“Thor, is there anything wrong?” Jane finally asked. “You seem distracted with something.”

Thor sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “I regret to say that I come bearing bad news.”

“What bad news?”

“The All-Father has requested that Loki return to Asgard.”

The room fell back into silence, Loki worriedly looking over at Thor. The words alone caused a sinking feeling to form in his stomach. When Thor had dropped him off months before, he would have done anything to get back to Asgard. But now…the thought of going back there seemed like a bad dream coming true.

“I thought he was supposed to be banished,” said Jane, noting Loki’s concern.

Thor shrugged. “Father did not give reasons. He simply told me to bring Loki back.”

“I don’t want to go back!” Loki finally spoke up. Everyone turned their eyes to him. Even he was a bit shocked at the words that came out of his mouth. “I-I want to stay here.”

Thor blinked and his eyebrows rose.

“You don’t want to return to Asgard?” He looked at Loki, a bit puzzled. “You wish to remain mortal?”

“No, I don’t want to remain mortal. I just want to stay here…with…Jane.” He shyly looked over at Jane. “I like her. We have fun together.”

Jane smiled at him.

“I wish I could leave you here, Loki, but Father’s orders are for me to bring you back.”

“Right now?”

“Yeah, I guess…As soon as possible.”

Loki leaned over against Jane, resting his head on her shoulder. “I’m not ready to leave,” he said with a pout. “You said I could stay here if we got along—if Jane could handle me.”

“Yes, I did say that, but I did not know that Father would change his mind.”

Jane touched Loki’s arm gently. “Loki, it’ll be okay.”

“No!” He pulled away. “Odin always does this! Every time I find some shred of happiness, he always ruins it. He hates me!”

Thor looked down at his lap, not bothering to say anything. Suddenly, Loki got up and stomped off to his room, slamming the door. Thor, Jane, and Darcy exchanged glances, the living room feeling tense and uncomfortable. They still weren’t able to bring themselves to speak. A thousand different things ran through Jane’s mind, but she just…didn’t know what to say.

“I’d better go see if he’s okay,” she said, getting up. She didn’t bother knocking; she just turned the doorknob and walked on in, pushing the door closed behind her. Loki stood at the window, angrily glaring out into the night. His cheeks were wet with tears, and he was in the middle of sniffing some away as he turned to look at her. She gave him a reassuring smile.

“I don’t want to leave,” he said, his voice cracking. “I never thought I would say that, but…I really don’t want to leave.”

She walked over to him and rubbed his arm. “There’s not much you can do about it. When Odin makes up his mind about something…”

“I know,” he said darkly.

Jane wanted to say something to give him encouragement, but she was at a loss for words. She was feeling tears coming into her eyes too. Quietly, she stood there, studying the trickster. His hair had grown out a little more since he had been with her, and he looked a lot better. The dark circles under his eyes had disappeared and he looked overall healthier than he had looked when he first arrived.

“We’ll get to see each other again someday,” she finally said, wiping a few tears from her cheek. “You’ll see.”

Loki nodded. 

“I…just…had hoped to spend at least one more night.” He looked down at his pajamas. “Everything is happening so fast. We were having a pillow fight earlier…and now…I’m going back to Asgard and to…whatever Odin has planned for me.”

“Life has a way of doing that.” She took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. “What will Odin do?”

“I don’t know…” Loki breathed, shaking his head. His voice sounded worried and a bit scared. “Perhaps he just wants to see if I’m making progress and he’ll send me back. It’s not like him to do this, especially since he’s usually so strict about banishing.”

“Do you think…he would let you come back?”

Loki shrugged. “I guess I’ll have to wait and see.”

“Do you think you’ve made any progress?”

Loki shrugged again. “I feel like I’ve learned things about Midgard culture that I didn’t know about before.” He frowned. “Things I’d rather not know.”

Jane couldn’t help but smile.

Loki walked over to the other side of the room and began picking up his Asgardian clothing and putting it piece by piece on the bed, checking once to make sure he had all the pieces of his armor. Jane picked up his sketch pad and handed it to him. He shook his head and pushed it back at her.

“You keep it.”

“You sure?”

Loki gave a nod. Not saying anything, she returned it to its place on the night table and left the room to allow Loki to dress.

 

It was about thirty minutes later when Loki finally came out of his room. He shuffled into the living room, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. He was dressed in his Asgardian clothes and armor, his horned helmet tucked under his arm, and his cape having been put back in its proper place. It was odd for Jane to see him dressed that way, especially after seeing him dressed in normal earth clothing for so long. Judging by the look on the trickster’s face, she guessed that he would have rather been dressed in his green silky pajamas, on his way to bed instead.

“Took you long enough,” said Thor.

Jane walked over to Loki and gently took his hand and massaged his thumb, secretly tapping it. Loki looked down at it and then to Jane. Jane gave him a wink. He shyly smiled, understanding her silent gesture to his secret.

“I’m going to miss you.” Jane smiled, sniffing back tears.

“I’m going to miss you, too,” he replied softly. He smiled. “But I’m _not_ going to miss your ruler.” 

Jane laughed.

“This is just not fair to the poor guy,” said Darcy. “I mean, I know he was here because he was being punished, but still. He’s not doing any harm to anyone, except for driving us nuts sometimes. Odin should understand that.”

“I know,” said Thor. “If anyone is more concerned about these new decisions, it is I.” He turned to look at Loki. “I fear what Father has planned for my brother.”

“It can’t be any worse than having needles stuck in your rear,” Loki mumbled under his breath. He turned to Thor. “Can we just go and get this over with?”

Thor studied Loki then he turned to Jane.

“Goodbye, Jane.” He gave her a kiss. “When all of this is over, I promise we will spend time together.”

Jane nodded, sniffing back tears.

“Heimdall, open the Bifrost!” Thor shouted. With a flash of light, both Thor and Loki vanished, leaving behind Jane and Darcy.

Darcy walked up to Jane, patting her on the shoulder.

“You gonna be okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, sure.” She sniffed. “I lost both of them in one night. I’ll be perfectly fine.”

 

After Darcy left, Jane mulled around her apartment. She needed to be working on her latest project, but every time she sat down to do it her mind began to wander and she found herself staring. Finally, she got up and walked around; finding her way to the room Loki had stayed in. She flipped on the overhead light and leaned against the doorframe, looking over everything. The place was still a mess, the floor littered with clothes, books, and other items the trickster had used while he was there.

Jane walked forward and bent over to pick up a green t-shirt. She smelt it and tossed it onto the disheveled bed. She caught sight of the little plush green dog she’d given him and picked it up. Loki’s sketchpad was lying on the bed. She thought that was weird since she remembered putting it back on the night table. Not giving it a second thought, she looked over the room again. Everywhere she turned, memories came flooding back to her.

Tears filled her eyes. She missed him. She sighed and turned to look out the window. That’s when the note caught her attention. It was tucked under the little glass dinosaur on the windowsill. She walked forward and gently picked it up and took the note in her fingers and began reading the words that had been scribbled out on a piece of sketchpad paper.

_Dearest Jane,_

_I will miss you deeply. I know we got off to a rough start, but I’m glad we were able to eventually work things out. I’m sorry I gave you such a hard time. I hope you will forgive me._

_I might not have enjoyed being banished to Midgard, but I’m glad I was able to be banished with you. As much as it pains me to say it, Thor made the right choice to drop me off at your apartment. I only wish I could have stayed longer. Please keep my room for me, if you can. Someday I hope to come by and visit you whenever I get the opportunity. Not sure when that will be, but I hope it is soon. Until then, I will be keeping an eye on you. I have to since you know too many of my secrets._

_I want you to know that I would be honored to have you as my sister-in-law, too. Thor is fortunate to have you in his life._

_Thank you for everything. Be sure to take care of Kludge for me. He’ll need someone to look after him until I return. Keep a close eye on him because he’s just as mischievous as I am._

_Say hi to Darcy for me._

_Love, Loki_

Jane wiped tears from her cheeks as she held the note to her chest. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do without him—without both of them. She pulled the note away from her and read over it again, sniffing. She stopped, reading over the last part a third time, puzzled.

Who was Kludge? She looked at the plush dog, thinking Loki had named it Kludge. But then, as if on cue, a beeping and whirring noise sounded within the room, making her jump and take a few steps back. Her eyes nervously scanned the area. At first, she couldn’t see where the sound was coming from. Then she looked down. Curiously peeping out from under the bed was a tiny robot. It was made up of a mixture of mismatched parts, computer pieces, and wiring and stood precariously on two legs, making it look strangely like something out of _Star Wars_.

Jane continued to stare, mystified over the strange object. She had seen robots before, naturally, but it was so odd to see one coming out from under the bed that had belonged to a Norse trickster.

“So _that’s_ what he wanted all of those extra parts for,” she whispered, marveling over the craftsmanship. She squatted down and stretched out a hand to the little robot as if it were a puppy. “Come here, little fella. Are you Kludge?”

The robot moved its ‘head’ to study her hand. It hesitated a moment before taking a few steps forward. It nudged her fingers, and then pushed its body up into her palm and rubbed against her like a cat. Gently, Jane picked it up and cradled it in her arm.

“Remarkable.” she breathed. Kludge jumped out of her arm and landed on her shoulder. It made chirruping sounds like it was happy to finally see something of the room other than people’s ankles. “Don’t worry, little one, I’ll take good care of you.”

Kludge rubbed himself against Jane’s face, chirruped happily, and hopped a few steps to the edge of her shoulder, his head turning around and practically upside down.

Jane laughed, walked to the door, turned off the light, and called it a night.

 

\- End

 

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When Jane woke the next morning, she sleepily made her way down the hall. Little Kludge struggled to keep up with her, awkwardly walking on his flimsy legs beside her foot. Jane turned to go into the bathroom but stopped dead in her tracks. She turned to look into the living room. At first, she thought she was still asleep and dreaming, but she wasn’t. Her mouth widened into a smile.

“Loki??” She stepped further into the room.

There on the couch lay Loki, dressed in his silky pajamas, his feet propped up on the armrest.

“Hello, Jane.” He smiled back. “Seems that Odin only wanted to know how I’m progressing, just like we figured. Thor brought me back a few hours ago.”

“Why couldn’t Heimdall report your progress?”

Loki shrugged. “I guess he’d rather hear it from me, to see if I would tell the truth.”

“Did you?”

“Did I what?”

“Tell the truth.”

Loki stared at Jane for a minute then shrugged his shoulders, a sly grin appearing on his face.

“Loki…” Jane’s voice had an edge of warning to it.

“Regardless of what happened, Odin sent me back.” He turned his sly smile toward her. “Looks like you’re stuck with me awhile longer.”

“You imp.” Jane grinned.

Kludge let out a happy, shrill chirrup.

 

(Congratulations. You just found the end-credits scene.)

 

\- The Real End


End file.
